Pro-Palestinian activists due to appear court after damaging planes at RAF base

London (AP) – Four people are expected to appear in a london courtroom on Thursday on charges related to an incident during which pro -Palestinian demonstrators damaged two planes from the Royal Air Force with red paint and crochetes.

The accusations come after the action of the Palestine group said that two of its members entered Raf Brize Norton on June 20 and used electric scooters to approach two travel planes used for air supply. The demonstrators used reused extinguishers to spray paint in the jet engines of the plans and caused other damage with hooks, according to the group, which published video sequences of the incident.

The four, all aged 22 to 35, are accused of conspiracy in order to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for prejudicial purposes for the interests of the United Kingdom, the counter-terror police said in a statement. The crown prosecution service will claim that offenses have a “terrorist connection,” said the police.

Palestine Action claimed the responsibility of a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom and other war-related sites in Gaza. Following the incident at Raf Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine action as a terrorist organization. The measure means that it will be a criminal offense to belong or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

The Palestine action rejects this assertion, claiming that its protests are designed to end international support for the War of Israel in Gaza.

Aircraft from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) in the northwest of London, regularly go to Raf Akrotiri in Cyprus, the main British air base for operations in the Middle East.