Protesters from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign protested outside the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in High Wycombe on Saturday, two months after Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization for the break-in and vandalism of RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire.
Banners at the protest demanded the UK “end British military collaboration with Israel” and decried the alleged “61,000+ killed, 600 RAF spy flights.”
British officials have previously confirmed that the RAF planes flew over Gaza in search of the hostages remaining in Hamas captivity. Hamas abducted over 250 people during its October 7 rampage through southern Israel, 50 of whom have yet to be returned.
The protesters, according to the Independent, chanted “RAF you work for us, Israel is not your boss”, “RAF shame, shame – killing children in your name” and “RAF blood on your hands.”
Adnan Hmidan, chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, told the swarm of protesters, “The RAF is not just a bystander, it is a partner in collective punishment.
“It is a partner in ethnic cleansing, and the most important thing is that it is a partner in the genocide against the people in Gaza.
“Every war plane that reaches Israel with British parts or British support makes this country complicit in the killing of children.”
Activist Andrew Feinstein added, according to the Independent, “For the last 22 months, there are more RAF spy planes flying over Gaza than there have been Israeli Air Force spy planes.
“That information then gets relayed to the IDF to inform what they call their targeting decisions, but we know that their targeting is totally indiscriminate.
“So, the people who sit in these buildings are the ones guiding the IDF around Gaza. That is active participation in a genocide.
“The people sitting in these buildings should sit for the rest of their lives in The Hague in prison for their participation in genocide.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: “On 16th August, as part of our summer of action for Gaza, we will be surrounding RAF High Wycombe, drawing on the legacy of protest at air bases like Greenham Common, and showing the strength of the public demand for an arms embargo.”
The protest was organized by the Palestine Coalition, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of Al Aqsa, according to CODEPINK, which said it supported the demonstration.
Nine coaches from across the UK transported protesters, according to the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign’s website.
Official response to the protest
Ahead of the protest, Thames Valley Police stated, "We are aware of a protest being planned to take place outside RAF High Wycombe on Saturday (16/8).
"We will work with the organizers, partners, and the public to facilitate peaceful protest, balancing the rights of all and to keep our communities safe."
An RAF spokesperson previously told local media, "The RAF fully respects people’s right to protest within the law and we would do nothing to prevent members of the public exercising their right to peaceful protest.
"The RAF continues to defend the UK to ensure our citizens have the freedom to do so in our free and democratic society."