Palestine Action claims sabotage of RAF planes

Palestine Action has claimed the sabotage of two RAF planes at a base in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.

Footage that was published on the group’s X account this morning appears to show someone spraying an aircraft with red paint.

According to Palestine Action, two activists “repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers and caused further damage using crowbars”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently wrote to the Home Secretary, calling for the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 and providing her with a detailed dossier on the group. We continue to reiterate that call.

Palestine Action is a UK-based activist group which was formed in 2020. It has gained attention for what the organisation describes as “direct action” against companies and institutions which it considers to be linked to the Israeli Government, ranging from defence contractors to the BBC. The organisation is known for confrontational and criminal tactics, including damage to property, vandalism and the occupation of corporate or public facilities. Their most notable targets include Elbit Systems, an Israel-based defence contractor with subsidiary facilities throughout the United Kingdom. Since the 7th October 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas and the subsequent war between Hamas and Israel, Palestine Action has increasingly been targeting cultural and educational sites.

The group’s methods often involve the destruction of property, disruption of business operations, and threats to public safety. Palestine Action revels in these activities and writes extensively about them on its website. The organisation has also published a handbook named “The Underground Manual”, which includes instructions on everything from forming “cells”, to how to “pick a target”, and how to commit criminal damage in the most harmful way. The handbook includes instructions on what to wear, how to use a burner phone, and which tools to use to cause the greatest damage.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Home Secretary needs to ban Palestine Action urgently. They have graduated from vandalising Israel-linked companies to Jewish businesses and charities to now putting Royal Air Force planes out of action. Breaking into an RAF base to vandalise aircraft demonstrates Palestine Action’s real hatred for this country. This is an attack on Britain and the heroes who protect us daily, and jeopardises our nation’s security.

“Why are those who clearly have nothing but contempt for this country allowed to run amok? We have already provided the Home Secretary with a detailed dossier of evidence showing that the group’s activities fall, in our view, squarely within the definition of a terrorist organisation, and that Palestine Action should be proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. There must be no further delay in banning this group. They must be outlawed now.”