In the space of just two days, Palestine Action have smashed up banks, stopped production at an arms factory, and sent Cambridge Uni a message. It is, of course, all over these companies and institutions’ complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The actions collectively show that the group will not be stopped.
Barclays and JPMorgan get another dose of Palestine action
First, on Monday 24 June two groups from Palestine Action targeted JP Morgan Chase’s offices new offices in the Landmark building and Barclays branch in Altrincham:
Both banks saw their windows shattered and red paint covering their offices, symbolising their complicity in Palestinian bloodshed:
Both JP Morgan Chase and Barclays bank are both investors in Israel’s biggest weapons firm, Elbit Systems — a company which is the primary target of Palestine Action’s direct action campaign. Elbit manufactures 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land based equipment, as well as munitions, bullets, and missiles.
Bezhalel Machlis, CEO of the Israeli weapons maker, publicly states the company has “ramped up production” to arm the ongoing Gaza genocide.
Last month, JP Morgan Chase reduced their stake in Elbit Systems shares by 70%. However, their remaining investment is still significant and is currently valued at approximately $16m.
A Palestine Action spokesperson said:
Our actions cause economic disruption to those who make a killing out of genocide. By doing so, we make deadly dealings a less attractive investment for banks who only value profit. All investors must understand investing in Elbit comes with the additional risk of Palestine Action.
Elbit shut down – again
Then, also on 24 June seven Palestine Action activists were arrested after they attached themselves to two vehicles and blockaded the only road into the British headquarters of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, for nine hours:
Police had to drill through concrete within the vehicles in order to remove and arrest the activists:
The action successfully grounded Elbit’s operations to a halt today, disrupting an integral part of the genocidal arms company which Palestine Action vows to see forced out of Britain.
Elbit’s Bristol premises, at 600 Aztec West, Almondsbury, is used to oversee all British operations – including their drone-parts factories in site in Staffordshire and Leicester, and their weapons sights factory in Kent, all of which have found their activities severely disrupted by Palestine Action activists.
By managing all of these operations, the factory is a key operational hub for ‘Elbit Systems UK Ltd’ and its contributions to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, not least by processing the immense volume of arms that Elbit exports to Israel from Britain.
From across their global presence, Elbit manufactures munitions, combat vehicles, missiles and other Israeli arms and weapons components, and their British sites are used particularly for drones parts – with Elbit overall providing up to 85% of Israel’s drone fleet.
Palestine Action have shut down the Bristol HQ numerous times, by various means including person-to-person lock-ons, vehicular lock-ons, and occupations of the factory. Activists have also frequently targeted Somerset council, the landlords of Elbit’s Bristol HQ.
This action, as with every one undertaken by direct action network Palestine Action, has been taken to cease the operations at the premises, and to cease their contributions to Israel’s occupation and genocide in Palestine:
A spokesperson has stated:
Elbit Systems uses Gaza as a laboratory to develop their weaponry, a business model which has no place in any society. By arming Israel and allowing Elbit to operate in this country, our political establishment have failed to abide by their legal and moral obligations to end complicity in the Gaza genocide. That’s why it’s up to ordinary people to take direct action and shut Elbit down.
Cambridge Uni: also in Palestine Action’s sights
Meanwhile, on Saturday 22 June action takers sprayed the University of Cambridge’s historical Senate House in blood-red paint, in an act undertaken in collaboration with Palestine Action:
The site, used for the University’s upcoming graduation ceremonies, now reflects the Palestinian bloodshed which soaks the University’s financial records, research output, and historical legacy:
This action marks the end of an entire academic year where the University of Cambridge has funded, enabled and normalised the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Cambridge University has failed to take any meaningful action against, or even release a statement opposing, UK/US-backed-Israeli atrocities in Palestine.
The administration has repeatedly ignored student, staff, and alumni pleas for dialogue. The University has additionally refused to engage with escalating disruption which has been pursued in response to their silence, including the longstanding Cambridge University Encampment.
As one action taker said:
Uni administration sit in ivory towers, and don’t bat an eyelid at their involvement in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The white pillars at Senate House prop up a legacy of white supremacy and colonialism, which continues to this day through investments in and partnerships with arms companies like Elbit. Cambridge’s graduation hall is stained with the blood of Palestinians and now these stains have been made visible.
Senate House stands as the imperial heart of Cambridge and is the educational birthplace of its Zionist alumni, most infamously Arthur Balfour, author and signatory of the Balfour declaration. Balfour graduated from this very building, as did many others who actively aided the foundation and establishment of the modern-day apartheid state, and continue to support it today.
The University of Cambridge continues to actively invest in weapons companies and research partnerships enabling and normalising the UK/US-backed Palestinian genocide. “Defence” research and grants conceptualising the development of AI systems, drones, and surveillance technologies abused for the deliberate starvation and decimation of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Overall, Palestine Action said:
As long as these [companies and institutions] continue to support the brutal Zionist project, actions will escalate.
Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action and Neil Terry
