Britain’s role in Gaza horror

Britain’s air force are taking part in genocidal war crimes directed against the civilian population of Gaza, it has emerged.

Flight charts show that at least one British RAF shadow spy plane was flying overhead when a refugee encampment in the southern Gaza city of Rafah was hit with a devastating 2,000 pound bomb of a type supplied by the US government.

The attack killed at least 45 innocent civilians, including dozens of women and children, and injured hundreds more.

Videos from the camp show children shrieking in the darkness as the warplanes flew overhead on Sunday night before the bomb devastated a section of the sprawling refugee tent city. The attack took place despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel and its allies to immediately halt their assault.

Hundreds of RAF spy missions have taken place over Palestinian areas in recent months, apparently on behalf of Israel. Britain’s military has flown a total of 60 aircraft directly to Israel since it began bombing Gaza in October.

An investigation by the Declassified UK website has previosuly reported that British agencies are training Israel’s military, supplying arms and offering diplomatic support to Israel.

Some 80% of Tory MPs are members of Conservative Friends of Israel. British military support for the genocide in Gaza is unlikely to change after the British general election – more than one in five of British Labour MPs are also funded by pro-Israel groups or individuals. Over 70 Labour MPs are members of Labour Friends of Israel.

Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard has spoken out against the British role in support of Israeli “barbarism” which he said is being “aided and abetted by the West and its imperialist military alliances”.

Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on Monday, the 26 County Tánaiste Michael Martin also described the recent air strikes on Rafah as “barbaric”.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Mr Martin said the Israeli response to Ireland’s decision last week to recognise the state of Palestine – including an attempt to publicly humiliate the Irish ambassador to Israel – was “outside of diplomatic norms”.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian flag was raised outside the Dublin parliament as part of the formally recognition of the State of Palestine, which will see official diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah.

But anger in Ireland and the demands for greater action against Israel continue to mount over its atrocities, including calls for strong economic sanctions and an end to the use of Ireland as a staging post for military shipments.

The Dublin parliament was suspended on Wednesday after protesters inside the chamber interrupted statements on Palestine to chant their opposition to the genocide.

The group of demonstrators, who were sitting in the public gallery, got to their feet and chanted “stop arming Israel”, “sanctions now” and “close Shannon to the US military”.

Earlier, Taoiseach Simon Harris said there is an onus on every country and on the European Union “to use every lever at our disposal” to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza.

In a statement to the Dáil, Mr Harris said: “I welcome the decision of the Belgian presidency to convene a meeting on the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

“The human rights clauses in that agreement are and must be meaningful and when they’re not being adhered to, that too must have consequences.

“We need to look at all the levers at our disposal to bring about a cessation of violence before Netanyahu’s next tragic mistake.

“Formal recognition of the state of Palestine here today is an act of powerful, political and symbolic value. I hope it sends the Palestinian people a message of hope that in this, their darkest hour Ireland stands with them.

“It is an expression of our view that Palestine holds and should be able to vindicate the full rights of the state, including self-determination, self-governance, territorial integrity and security, as well as recognising Palestine own obligations under international law.”

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said Palestinians in Gaza are enduring “horror on an unimaginable scale”.

Ms McDonald told the Dáil that world leaders “continue to draw a false equivalence between the impoverished occupied and the oppressive occupier”.

She accused Israel of “brazenly, repeatedly breaking” international law, adding: “Palestine is a nation threatened by annihilation.

“The world was always going to face a moment of reckoning on Palestine, and as Israel continues its brutal onslaught on the refugee refugee population of Gaza and launched his horrific madness and attacks on Rafah, I believe the moment of reckoning is now.”

Ms McDonald added: “Recognition of the Palestinian state can’t be the end, it has to be just the beginning: a new departure in pursuing freedom and justice for the Palestinians.”

Meanwhile, Lasair Dhearg said Ireland must break economic ties to Israel.

“Despite today’s decision, and more than 40,000 murdered Palestinians, the administration in Dublin continues to resist calls for sanctions to be imposed upon the Zionists,” they said.

“Yet they saw fit to export more than €500m of goods to israeli companies last year, helping to fuel their economy, at the same time that their tiny armed forces are spending more than €1m a year on goods and services from Israel.

“As socialists and anti-imperialists, we have to continue to oppose colonial occupation, regardless of where in the world it takes place, including when our governments profit from it.

“Anything short of a complete cessation of trade with Zionists - as well as any companies around the world actively profiting from Palestinian occupation - is unacceptable and must be seen for what it is: wilful collaboration in a genocidal project to wipe from the face of the earth all traces of Palestinian society, history and culture.”

Urgent Appeal