Declassified UK

Hi everyone, Mark Curtis here. This month, the UK has been continuing to provide military assistance to Israel while it has attacked Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. We absolutely have to keep documenting UK policy towards Israel, helping those who challenge it in the UK and exposing the complicity of British ministers in genocide and aggression. Thanks for following our work and supporting us, which enables us to keep doing this.

Shahd Abusalama, who was born and raised in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, wrote two articles for us this month. She told how her family is being shot at by Israeli drones, and how those who survive face starving to death. She also wrote about how the British government is complicit in the suffering of her uncles, aunts, cousins and their children.

It’s important, and obviously harrowing, testimony, and I urge everyone to read these articles if you haven’t already.

Our staff investigator John McEvoy has been doing the most important, revelatory investigations of any journalist in the country on how the UK is supporting Israel. This month he showed how Israel’s army chief was given special immunity to visit Britain, allowing him to visit without fear of arrest for war crimes..

John also found that the UK trade department approved 34 military export licences to Israel in the two months since foreign secretary David Lammy announced a partial arms embargo. And, to add to this, John also discovered how over 500 shipments of F-35 parts were sent from a British air base to the US, where they can be exported to Israel amid the genocide.

Our regular contributor Hamza Yusuf showed how many of the bombs Israel drops on Gaza are fired by F-15 fighter jets, whose pilots came to Britain for a military exercise.

We’re watching developments in Syria closely. I wrote about when the UK backed Al-Qaeda in Syria, showing how the UK’s campaign to overthrow the Assad regime after 2011 provides key background to understanding Whitehall’s current approach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

We have a major fundraiser this month, supported by three women I intensely admire: Shahd herself, Huda Ammori of Palestine Action and Stella Assange. All three have endorsed our fundraising campaign and our work.

We’re really close to raising the £20,000 we need for new investigations in 2025. If you can afford it please chip in today.

Despite all the suffering going on, I hope you and your families can manage to have a good break over the festive season and new year. We’ll be coming back even stronger in the new year, with new staff members and new faces to do even work investigations, articles, videos and more.

A huge thanks for your support in 2024.  

Mark Curtis

Director of Declassified UK