THE UK Government is facing pressure to be “fully transparent” and disclose if it holds information gathered by spy plane flights over Gaza at the time Israel killed six journalists in a targeted strike.
On Sunday, August 10, the Israeli military killed prominent Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, as well as four of his colleagues and a freelancer, in a deliberate strike in Gaza City.
Israel later claimed that al-Sharif had been a leading member of Hamas – but the allegation was widely contested, with Al Jazeera calling it a “desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza”.
The Guardian reported that the strike which killed al-Sharif and his colleagues happened at 11.22pm, quoting Palestinian reporter Wadi Abu al-Saud.
Flight radar data showed that a spy plane registered under the code N6147U was active at the RAF Akrotiri base, in Cyprus, two hours earlier.
There is no flight path available, suggesting the plane’s transponder was then turned off. This has been standard practice during spy missions over Palestine.
In April, The Times reported that the UK Government had admitted to holding information gathered from a spy plane over Gaza on the day that an Israeli air strike killed British aid workers. However, the Ministry of Defence refused to release it.
After the killing of al-Sharif, the UK’s National Union of Journalists asked the Labour Government to back an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into Israel’s targeting of media workers.
In light of the above information, the UK Government was asked:
- Does the UK Government possess any information gathered by a spy plane over Gaza on August 10/11?
- Will it release the information publicly?
- Will it release the information to any investigation (by the ICC or otherwise) into the killing of journalists?
SNP MSP Bill Kidd said: “The SNP is clear that the killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel is indefensible and that Israel should be held to account.
“The UK Government must be fully transparent in answering these questions."
A spokesperson for Scotland for Palestine campaign group said: “Conducting spy flights over Gaza for Israel as it stands accused by the world’s highest court of a plausible genocide is already grave.
"If further evidence shows that the UK Government was involved in tracking down the last few remaining Palestinian journalists in a targeted assassination by Israel – a crime under international law – then this would be yet another serious mark against the UK Government.
“Similar to past atrocities, anyone who has helped Israel to commit crimes against humanity will one day face the consequences of their actions.
“We thank The National for following up on this and for holding the UK Government to account.
“The UK Government must now comply and release the information that has been requested on its spy flights over Gaza.”
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
Previously, the UK Government has said that its unarmed surveillance flights are conducted for the sole purpose of locating Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
It has declined to release any information gathered, citing operational security.
