London
CNN
–
Palestinian pro-activists broke into Britain’s largest air force base and damaged two military aircraft in central England early on Friday.
Palestinian Action, a UK-based group aimed at disrupting the operations of arms manufacturers supplying the Israeli government, has posted footage of the action on its X account.
The video shows two people riding electric scooters at the tarmac at Rough Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Activists can be seen spraying red paint on the turbine engines of the two Airbus Voyager. They are said to be used to refuel military and fighter jets in Israel, the US and the UK, as well as their suspect role in carrying military cargo.
“The UK is not merely a joint venture, but is actively involved in Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East,” a spokesperson for Palestinian actions said in a statement.
“By abolishing the two military aircraft, Palestinian actions intervened directly in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinians,” he added.
A source from the Ministry of Defense told CNN that RAF Voyagers had not carried anything to Israeli forces or refueled Israeli aircraft.
The incident raises broader questions about how un-arrested activists were able to enter without being detected by the carrier. RAF Brize Norton has around 5,800 service personnel, 300 private staff and 1,200 contractors.
In a statement, the Department of Defense strongly condemned “the vandalism of Royal Air Force assets” and said it was working with police investigating the violation.
In a statement posted to X, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer called the incident “vulnerability” and called it “disgrace.”
