In a startling breach of security, activists from a Pro-Palestinian group on Friday broke into Britain’s largest air force base and damaged two aircraft in what they said was a protest against the country’s military support for Israel.
The group, called Palestine Action, posted footage online showing two people using electric scooters to move around the base, R.A.F. Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which is used for overseas operations.
In a statement, Palestine Action said that two activists had sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers and damaged them with crowbars, as well as spraying more red paint on the runway to “symbolize Palestinian bloodshed.” The group said that the two people who carried out the vandalism “managed to evade security and arrest” during the incursion in the early hours of Friday morning.
The incident is the latest in a series of acts of vandalism by Palestine Action at high-profile and supposedly secure locations, including defense manufacturers.
Thames Valley Police, the force responsible for the area, said in a statement that officers were working with the Ministry of Defense and with the R.A.F. to investigate. Inquiries “are ongoing to locate and arrest those responsible,” the force noted.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said, “We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets. We are working closely with the police who are investigating.”
The ministry did not immediately respond to a question on whether it would open a review of security at the site.
Grant Shapps, a former British defense secretary, wrote on social media that there needed to be a “full security review.”
“Storming an RAF base isn’t protest — it’s a national security breach,” he wrote. “The blame lies squarely with these reckless activists, but ministers must now explain how on earth it was allowed to happen.”
In its statement on Friday, Palestine Action said the targeted planes “can carry military cargo and are used to refuel” military aircraft, including fighter jets, from the British, Israeli and militaries.
But a former senior R.A.F. commander, Greg Bagwell, said in a social media post that British air tankers were “incompatible” with Israeli fighter aircraft and could not be used to refuel them.
He added, “This is another wake up call for our domestic security on bases — whether it be enemy drones, or activists on e-scooters we need to be better prepared and protected.”
Palestine Action has previously conducted vandalism and protests at sites in Britain operated by the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and at companies with links to that firm, and also at other defense companies.
Several activists have been prosecuted over the protests, including five people who were imprisoned last year for causing about $1.3 million of damage to a weapons equipment factory in Glasgow in June 2022.
Britain’s largest R.A.F. base, Brize Norton houses about 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff members and 1,200 contractors.
According to its official website, the base “provides rapid global mobility in support of U.K. overseas operations and exercises,” as well as air-to-air support for jets, “both on operations and in support of U.K. homeland defense.”
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