Anti-Israel protesters chant ‘RAF shame on you’ at air base demonstration
Demonstrators gathered along the barbed wire fence of RAF High Wycombe on Saturday afternoon at the protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Protesters chanted “RAF shame on you” as they held a demonstration outside an air base calling for an embargo on selling arms to Israel.
Demonstrators gathered along the barbed wire fence of RAF High Wycombe on Saturday afternoon at the protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Protesters held banners that said “end British military collaboration with Israel” and “61,000+ killed, 600 RAF spy flights”.
There were chants of “RAF you work for us, Israel is not your boss”, “RAF shame, shame – killing children in your name” and “RAF blood on your hands”.
A large Palestine flag was erected in front of a replica Second World War Hurricane fighter plane outside the entrance to the air base, with organisers bussing in protesters from High Wycombe railway station.
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.”
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “We are aware of a protest being planned to take place in High Wycombe today.
“We will work with the organisers, partners and the public to facilitate peaceful protest, balancing the rights of all and to keep our communities safe.”
RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire houses Headquarters Air Command and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s.
The station is also the headquarters of the European Air Group and the UK Space Command.
The Metropolitan Police said on Friday that a further 60 people will be prosecuted for “showing support for the proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action”.
The force said this follows the arrest of more than 700 people since the group was banned on July 5, including 522 in central London last Saturday.
More prosecutions are expected in the coming weeks and arrangements have been put in place “that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary”, the Met said.
Last week, the Met confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences against section 13 of the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action.
Palestine Action was proscribed by the UK Government in July, with the ban meaning that membership of, or support for, the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.
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