At large: Benjamin Netanyahu. (Ohad Zwigenberg / Alamy)
International Criminal Court’s stance on Gaza should trigger an end to British military ties with Israel, critics say.
Britain’s ongoing involvement in Israeli military operations in Gaza “opens the UK up to charges of complicity in war crimes”, an opposition politician has told Declassified.
Liz Saville Roberts MP spoke out after seeing UK spy flights continue to surveil Gaza despite Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu now being wanted for war crimes.
Flight tracking data shows Royal Air Force surveillance planes over the besieged enclave have not been interrupted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants.
Although ministers claim the flights, which began last year, are solely looking for hostages, Saville Roberts said “there is a clear risk that the information shared with Israel from these flights may have been used in attacks on civilians.”
Labour has also refused to implement a complete arms embargo on Israel. Spare parts for Israel’s most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, can still be shipped to Tel Aviv if they go via the US.
Human rights lawyers say this loophole is “unconscionable”. General Herzi Halevi, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, was even allowed to visit the UK on Monday for talks with military officials.
Sharing intel with war criminals?
UK contact with Israel’s military has come under increasing scrutiny since the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant last week.
Both men are accused by the ICC of “the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” and using “starvation as a method of warfare”.
Britain is sending surveillance flights over Gaza almost every day to gather intelligence for Israel, claiming it could find hostages held by Hamas.
dizzy: Israel’s genocides should be regarded as a joint pursuit involving the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAGenocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and chief of staff Gen.Herzi Halevi visit the Netzarim corridor in Gaza, 19 November 2024 (Credit: Abaca Press/Alamy Live News)
Exclusive: Days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, its top general flew to London.
Israel’s top soldier, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, visited Britain earlier this week, the UK government has confirmed to Declassified.
The visit came three days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
Those include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”, as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
Halevi was initially reported to have been included in the ICC’s arrest applications for the crime of having “deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza”. He was also forced to apologise in April after the Israeli military killed seven international aid workers including three Britons in Gaza.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Declassified: “As part of the concerted UK effort, along with allies and partners, to reach a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, the Chief of the Defence Staff hosted his counterparts from Israel and other European partners”.
The spokesperson added: “Discussions included the UK calls for an immediate ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza and the need for all parties to comply with international humanitarian law while recognising Israel’s right to security”.
A ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was announced on Tuesday.
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon on November 25, 2024. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
“It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region,” said one group.
Peace advocates on Tuesday cautiously celebrated Israel agreeing to a cease-fire with the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah while also stressing the need for an immediate end to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Despite concerns about whether the truce will actually happen, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a U.S.-based Quaker group, welcomed the plans for it and called on “all parties to ensure this agreement is swiftly enacted.”
“The time for peace is now—not just in Lebanon, but in Gaza and across the region,” FCNL declared on social media. “We urge U.S. officials to ensure this agreement brings an immediate end to the Israeli government’s devastating and indiscriminate bombing and attacks against Lebanese civilians, which have been fueled by U.S. weapons.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the National Security Cabinet approved the cease-fire in Lebanon with a 10-1 vote—only far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voted no. The office added that “Israel appreciates the U.S. contribution to the process, and reserves the right to act against any threat to its security.”
Netanyahu said in a speech to Israelis that “the length of the cease-fire depends on what happens in Lebanon. With the United States’ full understanding, we maintain full freedom of military action. If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack.”
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said that he worked with French President Emmanuel Macron to negotiate the cease-fire, which is set to begin at 4:00 am local time on Wednesday. The United States has spent at least tens of billions on Israeli military operations and related U.S. operations in the region since the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas led the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
“As Biden spoke tonight, Israel was raining U.S. bombs down on Lebanon and Gaza,” notedDrop Site journalist Jeremy Scahill.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday thanked France and the United States for negotiating the truce, which he said is “a fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon” and “helps to establish regional stability.” He also reiterated his government’s intention to “strengthen the army’s presence in the south.”
Cross-border battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah over the past nearly 14 months have displaced tens of thousands of people in Israel and over 1 million in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that Israel’s assault—which has intensified since September—has killed at least 3,823 people and injured another 15,859.
In Gaza, the death toll is at least 44,249, with 104,746 wounded, according to local officials. Israeli forces have also decimated civilian infrastructure and displaced most of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents, who are struggling to access necessities, due to limits on aid. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court last week issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas leader.
“It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region,” said FCNL. “More violence and suffering in Gaza will not make Israel, the U.S., or anyone safer or more secure. It must end now. We reiterate our calls for our government to use all U.S. leverage to bring about a full regional cease-fire to end the horrific suffering of Palestinians, protect all civilians, return all hostages home, de-escalate regional tensions, and begin the long road toward healing.”
“That must include prohibiting more offensive weapons shipments and U.S. military involvement, which would send a message of impunity to the Israeli [government] in the face of repeated and grave violations of U.S. and international law in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and beyond,” the group added—just days after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate rejected a trio of resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have halted some arms sales to Israel.
Nancy Okail, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responded similarly to the Tuesday development, saying in a statement that “we welcome news of a cease-fire agreement in Lebanon and hope that it can be implemented and sustained to prevent further harm to civilians who have been under threat of attack or suffered other great loss during the fighting.”
“This agreement nonetheless comes too late. While Israel has the right to legitimate self-defense against Hezbollah, the Netanyahu government’s deliberate escalation of the conflict in September resulted in disproportionate harm to civilians, hundreds of whom have been wounded or killed, with hundreds of thousands more displaced,” Okail said. “Mixed messages and prevaricating by the Biden administration on its position on Israel’s escalation and the need for a cease-fire [have] further prolonged the fighting and exacerbated the death and destruction it has brought.”
“The U.S. and its partners must ensure that the terms of this agreement are fully honored so that civilians on both sides of the border can safely return to and rebuild their communities,” she added. “What remains of the utmost urgency, however, is also ending the war in Gaza, where the U.S. arming of the Netanyahu government’s campaign of displacement, starvation, slaughter and—per the repeated vows of senior Israeli officials—settlement continues in violation of American and international law.”
Thousands of people across Greece joined a general strike and mass protests, demanding action against high living expenses, restrictions on union organizing, and excessive military spending
Greece was brought to a halt on Wednesday, November 20, as a 24-hour general strike brought workers from across sectors—including education, logistics, construction, public transportation, and health—to the streets of dozens of cities. The mass mobilization, which began early in the morning, followed a media strike on Tuesday that included both public and private outlets.
The striking workers demanded the repeal of anti-worker laws, including measures that extended working hours, and called for wage restoration. Over the past decade, successive governments, most recently led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, have implemented austerity policies under pressure from the European Union and international financial institutions. These policies have led to drastic income reductions, with wages remaining about 14% lower than in 2011, according to trade unions.
Protesters warned that current conditions mean they cannot lead dignified lives. With a minimum wage of approximately 900 euros, they face housing and food costs comparable to those in European countries with higher income. While the government has boasted about recent improvements in unemployment rates, unions highlighted that these figures mask the economy’s heavy reliance on tourism and fail to account for poor working conditions.
Greek unions emphasized that anti-worker legislation has persisted for over a decade, including wage cuts and freezes, extended working hours, and severe restrictions on collective bargaining. These policies have left only a small fraction of workers benefiting from collective agreements. “At the same time, they are further commodifying the functioning of critical sectors such as health, education, energy, water, transport, social security, infrastructure and civil protection services for natural disasters,” stated the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) ahead of the strike. In response, unions demanded guarantees of universal, public, and free education and healthcare, alongside accessible housing solutions.
The push to privatize and commodify basic rights highlights how successive administrations have prioritized fiscal targets over people’s interests. This has led to a situation where financial organizations commend Greece’s economic recovery, while the working class continues to face systemic denial of basic rights. On top of that, Greece has allocated millions of euros to military spending through NATO—a decision that has become a significant point of contention for trade unions.
“We do not accept our basic and daily needs to be sacrificed to give billions to NATO armaments, for missiles, frigates, war planes,” PAME stated. Hundreds of thousands of euros have been allocated for the frigate in the Red Sea—”money that is equivalent to the annual budget of a hospital”—the workers’ organization concluded.
Marches on November 20 highlighted international solidarity as opposed to war and militarization. Palestinian flags were prominently displayed at the rallies, reflecting the longstanding support of Greek workers for the people of Gaza and other occupied territories. Trade unions called for an immediate end to the Israeli genocide against Palestinian and Lebanese people. This message resonated with the general strike’s motto: “Out of the war slaughterhouses; fund wages, health, and education instead.”
“The large participation in the strike and rallies demonstrates the workers’ strong opposition to the government’s anti-people policies and its alignment with business interests,” PAME stated on the day of the strike. The organization reaffirmed its commitment to continue with the mobilizations, aiming to pressure the government to shift its priorities toward addressing workers’ rights and peace.
The crater left after the bombing of the MAP villa. (Photo: Amer Shoaib)
An airstrike on a medical compound in Gaza exposes Britain’s complicity with Israeli war crimes.
On 18 January 2024, a bomb exploded beside a villa in Gaza, housing international doctors working for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).
Despite the building being “deconflicted” — a designation meant to ensure its protection under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) — the strike injured two staff members and left the structure severely damaged.
Among the survivors was Amer Shoaib, a British orthopaedic surgeon working for MAP UK. Dr Shoaib, a veteran of the Royal Army Medical Corps, narrowly escaped the attack.
“Everything went completely white, and the ceiling and windows caved in,” Dr Shoaib recalls. “We were lucky. It was a minor miracle just because of where the bomb landed.”
An investigation by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has since revealed troubling evidence about the attack.
The findings suggest the airstrike may have involved UK-manufactured components, raising serious concerns about Britain’s role in the violence in Gaza.
The bomb used in the attack on MAP’s villa, potentially a GBU-32 (Mk 83) equipped with a delay fuse, was delivered by an F-16 fighter jet.
These jets, outfitted with advanced missile-launching kits and display systems supplied by British defence giant BAE Systems, have been integral to Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza.
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Documents revealed in the High Court show that licences for F-35 components were excluded from the September suspension due to their “profound impact on international peace and security” – alluding to Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the US, which leads the F-35 program.
This carve-out raises ethical concerns, as it openly acknowledges the risk of these components contributing to serious violations of IHL but – in the absence of a full-scale arms export ban – appears to still prioritise commercial and strategic interests.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAGenocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
