Palestine Action took drastic steps to try and stop Elbit System’s weapons manufacturing. Members of the group crashed cars into the factory’s bollards – backed up by local residents coming out to assist. Predictably, arrests followed – but many would see the action as proportionate when viewed next to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Palestine Action: drastic action
On Thursday 11 April, Palestine Action crashed two cars into the bollards in front of Elbit’s Leicester drone factory, UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS):
BREAKING: Actionists crash two vehicles into the bollards in front of Elbit’s drone factory in Leicester
By locking themselves to the steering wheels, they’ve blockaded the only entrance into the Israeli weapons maker
Join them at Unit F Meridian East Business Park, LE19 1WZ pic.twitter.com/jcg9guLrKy
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) April 11, 2024
Activists used D-locks to attach themselves to the steering wheels, to successfully blockade the only entrance into the Israeli weapons maker:
Dozens of locals came out to reinforce the blockade, chanting ‘murderer’ to workers as they were forced to drive home.
Predictably, cops arrived on the scene and arrested the two Palestine Action actionists:
In the aftermath, the factory looked like a crime scene – which it was anyway before Palestine Action arrived, given Elbit is directly responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of Palestinians:
U-TacS is majority owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, and partially owned by French arms company Thales. Elbit supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleet and land-based military equipment, marketing its weapons to the world as “battle-tested” on Palestinians. Their flagship drone is the Watchkeeper, which is modelled on the Hermes 450, and has operated in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Elbit’s Hermes 450 is regularly used during previous bombardments and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It was used by the Israeli military to murder seven aid workers, including three British citizens. U-TacS also exports military drone equipment to the apartheid state of Israel.
Since 7 October, the Israeli military has killed over 33,482 Palestinians, injured 76,049, and destroyed approximately 62% of homes in Gaza.
All power to the actionists
A Palestine Action spokesperson said:
The apparatus of the Israeli military has been embedded into our communities without our permission. Despite legal and moral obligations, our political lass continues to make us complicit in the Gaza genocide. So we’re left with no option but to take direct action and shut Elbit down. Day after day, we will disrupt the Israeli war machine in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Cops released the two Palestine Action actionists:
The aftermath of today’s action in Leicester, where two actionists crashed vehicles into the bollards in front of Elbit’s drone factory and shut the site down! #ShutElbitDown pic.twitter.com/ulerk2CpnZ
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) April 11, 2024
Some people might say Palestine Action using vehicles to stop Elbit is a step too far. We say all power to them – because some damage to bollards is nothing compared to the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza.
Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action
