Labour Minister Defends RAF Gaza Surveillance Flights Amid Growing Scrutiny of UK-Israel Relationship
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Maria Eagle has been criticised for delivering a speech supporting Israel as other world leaders this week spoke out vehemently against the country and as court proceeding began against the UK Government for exporting fighter jet parts to the state.
Labour's Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry spoke at a private event hosted at the British Museum on Wednesday for Israel Independence Day and was filmed saying the UK "stood with Israel, with the RAF conducting surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean".
The RAF's flights over Palestinian territory have faced significant scrutiny. The charity Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) published a report in March that found that 518 RAF surveillance flights over the occupied Palestinian territories took place between 3 December 2023 and 27 March 2025.
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The flights took place from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus using Shadow R1 aircraft which has "target acquisition" capacities according to the RAF. The RAF ran 24 flights in the two weeks before Israel's attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp which killed 274 Palestinians and injured 700.
The UK Government has refused to disclose details about the flights, including whether intelligence has been passed to Israel for targeting purposes.
Energy Embargo for Palestine, who protested outside the Independence Day event, said Eagle's "acceptance of an invitation and speech at an Israeli embassy event reflects a horrifying link between a UK Government Minister responsible for exporting arms to a state committing genocide".
The group added: "British RAF surveillance flights over Gaza have provided crucial intelligence for Israel to enact its brutal genocide on Palestinians. Maria Eagle's proud celebration of these flights demonstrates her allegiance to a jingoistic nationalism premised upon strengthening Britain's military industrial complex and collusion with a state enacting genocide. Maria Eagle is the minister of Defence Procurement and Industry - effectively, she is the buyer and seller of arms for the British state. Her speech comes on the same day the UK Government was brought to court by GLAN and Al-Haq for its export of F-35 jet parts to Israel."
Proceedings against the UK Government began in the High Court this week over the export of parts of the F-35 fighter jet to Israel. The Guardian reported that the position of the UK Government's lawyers is to argue that the exports are more important than stopping genocide.
Eagle's statement raises further questions - posed by the AOAV report - as to whether or not information gathered on those RAF surveillance flights was shared with Israel, and whether it contributed to war crimes and civilian casualties.
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Eagle's statement of support for Israel, in which she also stated that "we want to see the humanitarian situation improve, what we hope for and are working for is a deal which brings a stop to the fighting, enables the release of all hostages, gets the aid flowing and establishes a credible and irreversible path to peace" comes as several other Western states took aim at Israel.
Yesterday, Pedro Sanchez, Spain's centre-left ...
To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis.
Help us build the better media Britain deserves
Maria Eagle has been criticised for delivering a speech supporting Israel as other world leaders this week spoke out vehemently against the country and as court proceeding began against the UK Government for exporting fighter jet parts to the state.
Labour's Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry spoke at a private event hosted at the British Museum on Wednesday for Israel Independence Day and was filmed saying the UK "stood with Israel, with the RAF conducting surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean".
The RAF's flights over Palestinian territory have faced significant scrutiny. The charity Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) published a report in March that found that 518 RAF surveillance flights over the occupied Palestinian territories took place between 3 December 2023 and 27 March 2025.
David Lammy Accused of Misleading Parliament as New Report Reveals Huge Scale of Continued UK Arms Shipments to Israel
Thousands of items categorised as "munitions of war" continued to be sent to Israel after Keir Starmer's Government suspended a series of arms licenses to the country
Olly Haynes
The flights took place from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus using Shadow R1 aircraft which has "target acquisition" capacities according to the RAF. The RAF ran 24 flights in the two weeks before Israel's attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp which killed 274 Palestinians and injured 700.
The UK Government has refused to disclose details about the flights, including whether intelligence has been passed to Israel for targeting purposes.
Energy Embargo for Palestine, who protested outside the Independence Day event, said Eagle's "acceptance of an invitation and speech at an Israeli embassy event reflects a horrifying link between a UK Government Minister responsible for exporting arms to a state committing genocide".
The group added: "British RAF surveillance flights over Gaza have provided crucial intelligence for Israel to enact its brutal genocide on Palestinians. Maria Eagle's proud celebration of these flights demonstrates her allegiance to a jingoistic nationalism premised upon strengthening Britain's military industrial complex and collusion with a state enacting genocide. Maria Eagle is the minister of Defence Procurement and Industry - effectively, she is the buyer and seller of arms for the British state. Her speech comes on the same day the UK Government was brought to court by GLAN and Al-Haq for its export of F-35 jet parts to Israel."
Proceedings against the UK Government began in the High Court this week over the export of parts of the F-35 fighter jet to Israel. The Guardian reported that the position of the UK Government's lawyers is to argue that the exports are more important than stopping genocide.
Eagle's statement raises further questions - posed by the AOAV report - as to whether or not information gathered on those RAF surveillance flights was shared with Israel, and whether it contributed to war crimes and civilian casualties.
Ten Britons Accused of Committing War Crimes In Gaza While Serving in the IDF
The British nationals are accused of murder, extermination, attacking civilians, and the forcible transfer of people
Olly Haynes
Eagle's statement of support for Israel, in which she also stated that "we want to see the humanitarian situation improve, what we hope for and are working for is a deal which brings a stop to the fighting, enables the release of all hostages, gets the aid flowing and establishes a credible and irreversible path to peace" comes as several other Western states took aim at Israel.
Yesterday, Pedro Sanchez, Spain's centre-left ...
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