The United Kingdom is set to move to proscribe Palestine Action after activists from the anti-Israel group broke into a Royal Air Force base in central England, where they damaged and sprayed red paint over two military aircraft used for refueling and transportation, British media reported Friday.
According to the BBC and Sky News, the expected move by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper means that the organization will effectively be declared a terror organization.
Cooper is expected to make the announcement on Monday, before legislation is advanced on the matter.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Friday’s attack on the base as “disgraceful.”
“The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful,” Starmer said on X after campaign group Palestine Action posted a video claiming to show its activists breaking into the Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.
In the video posted on X, the activists appear to spray a plane with red paint while roaming the base on scooters. The group said it had also sprayed paint on the runway and left a Palestinian flag there.
Palestine Action said two of its activists had entered the base in , spraying paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and causing further damage with crowbars.
“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,” the group wrote in a statement, posting a video of the incident on X.
“Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.”
The activists left the base without being detained, Palestine Action said.
Britain’s defense ministry condemned the “vandalism” and said it was working with police to investigate.
“Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain. They put their lives on the line for us, and their display of duty, dedication and selfless personal sacrifice are an inspiration to us all,” it said. “It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.”
The government said a “full security review” was underway at the air base.
“We’re reviewing security across the whole defense estate,” a government spokesperson said, adding that the incident did not impact any aircraft movement plans or operations.
Police said they were investigating a report of people gaining access to the air base and causing criminal damage.
RAF Brize Norton serves as a hub for air-to-air refueling forces and supports overseas operations, including flights to the RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s largest air force base in the Middle East.
The UK has sent more Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran war started a week ago for what Starmer called “contingency support.”
Iran has threatened to attack US, French and British bases in the region if those countries help Israel fend off Iranian strikes.
According to British media, one of the planes vandalized was an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refueling tanker.
Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted defense firms and other companies in Britain it says are linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
In November, Palestine Action stole busts of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the University of Manchester.
Last month, the group claimed responsibility for vandalizing a US military aircraft in Ireland.
Anti-Israel sentiment has skyrocketed globally since October 7, 2023.