PFLP warns UK troops deployed in Gaza would be 'legitimate targets'

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has warned Britain and other countries against deploying forces on the land or coast of the Gaza Strip. 

The BBC reported on Saturday that UK troops could be deployed in Gaza to assist with aid deliveries via a temporary pier in the enclave being built by the US. 

The PFLP said in a statement on Telegram that British troops would be "treated as occupation forces and will be legitimate targets for the resistance". 

It said: "Our people will not forget the major crime committed by Britain against the Palestinian people, with its major contribution to the establishment of the Zionist entity, after issuing the ill-fated Balfour Declaration, and its continuation to this day in supporting the occupation and its crimes."

The group added that the justification of troop deployment to assist aid deliveries via the new sea corridor was "a lie that does not deceive anyone". 

"[It] is a justification for the permanent presence of military forces on the ground for malicious colonial goals and to protect the security of the Zionist entity," the PFLP said. 

"Whoever wants to provide relief to the Palestinian people must press to stop the aggression, break the siege, and bring in relief aid through the official crossings in the Gaza Strip and under Palestinian management and supervision."