During the early hours of the morning of Tuesday 6 August, six Palestine Action activists were arrested after they broke inside and damaged weaponry inside the highly secured Bristol manufacturing hub of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems.
Palestine Action repurpose a PRISON VAN against Israel
A larger group from Palestine Action used a prison van to smash through the outer perimeter and the roller shutters into the building:
A glimpse into how actionists used a repurposed prison van to break inside Elbit’s heavily guarded weapons facility👇 pic.twitter.com/JHxs9Wt9GM
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) August 6, 2024
Once six were inside, they began damaging the contents inside, including machinery and Israeli quadcopter drones:
Elbit: actively enabling genocide
Elbit’s Horizon facility at Belvedere Close in Filton is a key premises for the arms company, described as a research, development, and manufacturing hub for electronic warfare, land vehicle, simulation, and vision technologies. Freedom of Information disclosures show Filton’s ‘Elbit Systems UK’ has existent export licenses for the sale of weaponry to Israel.
The Filton site was opened in July of last year, with Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotevely in attendance to show off the Bristol produced-weapons technologies of the “Israeli defence company”. Also in attendance was Elbit’s CEO Bezalel Machlis, who recently boasted, too, of Elbit’s crucial role in supporting the ongoing genocide and of the graditude received by Elbit from the Israeli military for their services.
Products seen inside the factory are the same as those used in the Gaza genocide, including Elbit’s ‘Torch-X Command and Control’ systems, Thor quadcopter drones and its nv33 Night Vision technologies.
Elbit Systems, more broadly, supplies up to 85% of Israel’s military drones and land-based equipment, while its British exports to Israel mostly concern drone and aircraft components, military electronics, and target and acquisition systems.
The action is the latest instalment of Palestine Action’s campaign against Elbit Systems, which has seen the Filton site targeted for the first time. Their ‘UAV Engines’ site in Staffordshire has been disrupted for five consecutive days up to today, as activists mobilised with vehicular and ground lock-ons and community mass pickets.
Palestine Action: ordinary people must act
A Palestine Action spokesperson has stated:
Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems, uses Gaza as a laboratory to develop it’s weaponry. Activists directly intervened in this genocidal process by taking aim at Elbit’s research, development and manufacturing hub.
As a party to the Genocide Convention, Britain has a responsibility to prevent the occurrence of genocide. When our government fails to abide by their legal and moral obligations, it’s the responsibility of ordinary people to take direct action.
Featured image and video via Palestine Action
