HISTORY OF BRITISH BASES ON CYPRUS

The establishment of British military bases in Cyprus is rooted in the island's strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly as a crossroads for Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

1. Ottoman Rule and British Control (1878): Cyprus was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1878, when it was leased to Britain following the Cyprus Convention. This arrangement allowed Britain to use the island as a base to protect its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, which was crucial for trade and imperial routes to India.
2. World Wars and Geopolitical Significance: During World War I, Britain annexed Cyprus after the Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers. The island's strategic importance increased during both World Wars, serving as a military and naval hub for operations in the Middle East and Europe.
3. Colonial Period and Nationalism (1925–1960): Cyprus became a British Crown Colony in 1925. During this time, tensions grew due to the rise of Greek Cypriot nationalism, which sought union with Greece (Enosis), and Turkish Cypriot opposition, advocating partition (Taksim), both instigated through British propaganda. This unrest eventually led to the anti-colonial guerrilla campaign by the EOKA movement (1955–1959).
4. Independence and Base Agreement (1960): Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, following the Zurich and London Agreements. These agreements established the Republic of Cyprus but also allowed Britain to retain two Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) – Akrotiri and Dhekelia – encompassing about 99 square miles. These bases were crucial for Britain's strategic interests, including military operations, intelligence gathering, and maintaining a presence in the region.
5. Cold War and Modern Era: During the Cold War, the bases served as a vital point for monitoring the Soviet Union and facilitating Western military operations. Today, they remain significant for NATO and UK interests, playing roles in Middle Eastern conflicts and counter-terrorism efforts.

Today, these bases play a vital role in regional intelligence gathering and military operations, serving as strategic hubs for the Royal Air Force and other foreign military powers such as the US.

BRITISH BASES IN FACILITATING ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE IN GAZA

Britain is a direct participant in the genocide in Gaza. Its particular contribution is through its colonial Royal Air Force (RAF) bases in Cyprus, in tactical proximity to Palestine, from which it has been flying surveillance flights over Gaza and transporting weapons and soldiers. Not only is Britain facilitating genocide and crimes against humanity, it is probable that Britain is collecting the most extensive documentation of this genocide.

Britain has flown 47% of all reconnaissance flights over Gaza, followed by 33% by the US and 20% by Israel. In the tripartite genocide, it is Britain that is providing the specific intelligence role. In the year from October 2023, Britain flew 645 surveillance flights over Gaza.

Britain and the US created an airbridge, made up of bases in Britain, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Germany. Over 6,000 military flights have flown to Israel, including 1,200 that delivered weapons using this airbridge. The airbridge, surveillance flights, and re-fuelling operations have facilitated the extent of Israel's genocide in Gaza, attacks on the West Bank, bombing of Lebanon, and Yemen. The British government, both under the leadership of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, have ignored and refused questions over the use of the bases in Cyprus in facilitating Israel’s genocide. On 28th October 2023, the government sent the British press a D notice which instructed them not to report on UK Special Forces in Palestine. None of the mainstream press has since reported on the use of the RAF bases, surveillance flights, or the airbridge. As a result, we can deduct that they have been successfully silenced. Using British taxpayer money, the UK government is assisting in a genocide. We think it’s right that the British public know what their taxes are being spent on.

Britain has been a key supporter of Israel during its campaign of genocide in Palestine, and the British bases in Cyprus have been the key node through which this support has flowed.

The base's role is fourfold: 

• direct physical intelligence gathering through spy flights; 
• remote signals intelligence collection by the UK and US;
• materially facilitating the delivery of arms to Israel; 
• a crucial node for UK and US military asset basing (including special forces) for transit to Israel and the wider region in support of Israel, and for combat missions.

The British government, in the few times they have mentioned the surveillance flights or bases, report that they are assisting Israel’s “hostage rescue” - an excuse so thin that very few believe it, especially after over a year of failure by the IOF to rescue more hostages than they've killed. Israel has used the same language to justify its genocide which has killed more than 60,000. It was reported that during the Nuseirat massacre in June 2024, a violent US-Israeli operation to retrieve four hostages and killed almost 300 Palestinians and wounded 1,000 more - British spy planes were in the sky.

The bases have also acted as a crucial supply node for weapons supplies to Israel, certainly from the United States. With international action by workers, progressive governments, and peace movements to block the transfer of weapons to Israel, such as the Spanish governmnet's arms embargo and ban on arms shipments in its ports, or Greek dock workers on strike to block Israeli arms shipments, Britain is increasing its role in arms delivery to Israel and intentionally undermining this broad alliance of anti-genocide forces. Although the new Labour government temporarily suspended 30 arms licences to Israel in September 2024, this is only a fraction of the total trade. Crucially, the government did not suspend the supply of F-35 parts, due to its fear of angering the US. F-35s are Israel's most advanced fighter jet and have led Israel's air force in carrying out countless atrocities and massacres in Gaza and Lebanon, but have also been involved in illegally attacking Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and potentially Iran. The bases in Cyprus thus form a core part of the UK's supply of arms for Israel's genocide in Gaza, and its wider campaign of warmongering and violent aggression in the region

The bases have been at the centre of Britrain's direct particaption in the genocide in Palestine, with their existence a cornerstone of Western support. They not only enable British participation in the genocide, but facilitate American and Israeli resupply, and provide a sprawling staging ground for international participation in the genocide. It is not only a British problem, but a mark of shame for Cyprus, a country which has allowed itself to be the 'Airstrip One' of our age, and as much a participant in the genocide as the nation claiming its southermost soil as theirs.