Royal Air Force aircraft have been used to transport Ministers and senior officials conducting diplomatic engagements with Israel.
The information came to light in the following response to a Parliamentary Written Question.
Kenny MacAskill MP, Alba, East Lothian:
“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Air Force operated planes have flown to Israel since 7 October 2023.”
James Heappey, Minister of State (Ministry of Defence), responded:
“As of 2 February 2024, a total of 48 RAF operated aircraft have flown to Israel since 7 October 2023. These flights included aircraft used to transport Ministers and senior officials conducting diplomatic engagements with Israel.”
‘These flights included aircraft used to transport Ministers and senior officials conducting diplomatic engagements with Israel.”
Just say ‘Nobbling jihadis’ and have done with it. Appeasing the professionally aggrieved never works.
The key word is included, doesn’t state what other purposes they were used for. As such it’s a meaniless statement and whoever asked it was too stupid to ask for clarification or wasn’t interested in the real answer.
‘ … interested in the real answer.’
And therefore, shouldn’t be told.
Maybe he got the information he was looking for? Who knows with this kind of set piece Q&A.
What was he looking for I wonder, though as the answer doesn’t appear to answer any question I can think of.
I wonder if they ate allowed verbal supplementary questions? Or was there a chat in a corridor later….
Could explain it. Or the PM just wanted to demonstrate to his local voters he is interested in the conflict as it might be a local election pinch point.
Would have been nice if it confirmed no weapons were being supplied the left are getting away with murder putting across the idea we are arming the Israelis when virtually all such ‘armament’ talk revolves around the F-35 which we desperately need for our own defence and for which we have no say at all to who the US sells it to.
Diplomatic engagement,, do you honestly think Israel will listen to the UK, they probably only take suggestions from the US with a pinch of salt. I totally agree Israel had a legal right to respond to the attacks by a terrorist group, but I’ve think they gone from a legal right to a immoral escalation of response.
They’ll take more of an interest when they run out of munitions and parts for their equipment leaving them vulnerable to an actual attack rather than whatever collateral damage maximising operation it is that they’re running at the moment
Maybe you should explain why you ask a different morals to israel than to UK or USA…
What is immoral about wanting Hamas out of face of earth and what you will do differently to achieve said result?
Maybe you can explain what happened to Fallujah against Al-Qaeda+Trikit Saddam tripe or Mosul against ISIL…
Just a note US used white phosphorous not as smoke artillery but against buildings and and tunnels in Fallujah…did you noticed any first page?
Wanting to get rid of Hamas is not immoral, it is the way they are doing it they are not using precision methods but more of a blanket method that is immoral they are targeting civilian building it doesn’t matter if Hamas is under or hiding in the building when more civilians are killed that is immoral a bit like the method Russia is using in Ukraine. Russia is accused of war crimes at some point Israel will be accused the same. They have proven the point they will retaliate if attacked, now they need to dial back and show… Read more »
The UN estimates that seven civilians are killed for every combattant in modern warfare. Hamas claim 24000 dead in Gaza. Israel claims that 9000 of them are Hamas fighters.
Taking both claims at face value, that is a ratio of 1.7 civilians to 1 combattant.
If those figures are verified, then they are far from using “blanket measures” and are actually being very precise, particularly when you consider that Hamas are deliberately placing civilians in danger, because, as their leadership declared publicly, they want lots of dead Gazans
So you look a figures not the actual lives lost, so I take it you are a arm chair warrior, you’ve not actually seen those figures lives end. 🤔 why do people who have never seen war up close always have a opinion about something they know nothing about.
Your statement was wrong, so you switch to a personal attack.
Should have expected it.
You have no idea about me or my life.
You Could have 1000 Hamas killed and just 1 civvy and that 1 civvy is an immoral kill. Civvies get killed all the time in war but when you target residential/hospital building as in both Gaza and Ukraine that is crossing a red line. People think a soldier job is to kill people but most of the time their job is to save lives.
Do you know why RFA Argus is a casualty receiving ship and not a hospital ship? Because if even one use of a multiuse ship is military, you can’t call it a hospital. You can’t place a red cross on it and you can’t expect the enemy to respect its neutrality, because it isn’t.
It’s actually armed it has 1 Phalanx, 2 20mm it used to be armed with a mini gun but that was replaced with a 50 cal. It’s never been classed as a hospital ship.Geneva Convention does not permit her to be being officially classified as a hospital ship.
Sorry I hadn’t realised we were the 51st State I think his reply was clear we have no influence and even the US limited (unless they want the nuclear option home interests wouldn’t allow,) just ask Obama who they humiliated when he tried.
48 flights, has nobody taught these folks how to use a telephone, email, FaceTime?
In recent polls conducted before October in Gaza had 79% of respondents unhappy with their leaders and the same wanting more moves towards peace.
Israelis were 73% against the current government and a similar high number at the policies towards Palestinian people.
Just shows that as usual the politicians are not representing the people they serve.
MS wrote: “”Just shows that as usual the politicians are not representing the people they serve.”” People they serve? We in the West (Not just in the UK) have arrived at a situation where the mass importation of people with values and standards which lets be honest have no place in a modern world setting use the victimcard, cancel culture (and we see with Mike Freer Intimidation) in which to enforce those bigoted racist values on the rest of us. We saw that all the cries of Islamophobia after acts of terrorism on our streets, the Muslim council of Britian… Read more »
I think main thing is not to tar all the people with the same brush. Hamas leadership and the Israeli government have some bad dudes with extreme views that don’t represent the majority of the population they are meant to represent. The whole thing is a nightmare and the British government should say we condemn Hamas attacks and the way Israel is going about its Gaza escapades. Neither side listens to what we say/advise so we have nothing further to say on the matter. Take the Indian approach of keeping trade going that suits the U.K. no extra meetings, special… Read more »
My view is the bunfight between Israel and Hamas is nothing to do with us.as my mam told me as a teen , they have been fighting in that neck of the woods since before Jesus was born and they are still fight 2000 years later, over what? What I do object to, is political and religious activists demanding we listen to them as they object to the war in Gaza simply because Israel is involved, how can I say that, because I saw no mass protests when Sudan kicked off, no wait there was from the same people complaining… Read more »
I agree with most of your points about the left and Islam. I think in widening out your moaning to slander Liberals and Greens you are abusing the issue. This is quite common with political extremists on the left and right. You think everyone who does not agree with you is the same. So right-wing bigots put right wing Lib Dems like me in with Momentum, and Momentum put everyone to the right of them in with the Tories. Meanwhile you have raised the issue of bigotry. When Hamas murdered 1200+ people most of us were reacting with horror. You… Read more »
Chris wrote: “”I suspect as an avowed Christian with a history of homophobic and transphobic comments on here you were just trying to rape a Lesbian or beat up/murder a Gay man by proxy. “” Really, avowed Christian , me, the last time I was in Church was over a remembrance parade I had to attend in uniform. In fact I can honestly say I have never attended a church service on a Sunday off my own back, you see I had religion beaten out of me (Which I why my sister and I were placed in care) don’t get me… Read more »
Anyone who wishes can go through your history and see your homophobic and transphobic posts. Answer the question: When Hamas murdered 1200+ people most of us were reacting with horror. You posted a claim that a LGBT group had endorsed the attack. I was surprised about that as most Lesbian and Gay people I know are very anti Muslim bigotry. I checked it carefully and found no references to such. I asked you for your source and got no reply? The whole thread got deleted after others complained about your comments. I suspect as an avowed Christian with a history… Read more »
Chris,
You claim that anybody who wishes to go through my history can see my homophobic posts, do us all a favour cut out the middle man and cut and paste them with link.
I’ll await your reply.
After the Hamas attacks you posted a claim that a Lesbian and Gay group had endorsed the attacks. For the third time what is your source for that?
I suspect as an avowed Christian with a history of homophobic and transphobic comments on here you were just trying to rape a Lesbian or beat up/murder a Gay man by proxy. I am not interested in wasting my time helping the likes of you cover up what you are.
I think that’s pretty funny actually. We need irony and black humour . Absolutely awful taste I grant you, but nevertheless . Why hasn’t anyone found a link to putin, he’s the one whose benefited that’s the tragedy. We all should be professional and political correct but what’s next ?