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This morning Palestine Action targeted the City of London premises of Allianz as part of an ongoing and escalating campaign against the insurance giants.

Palestine Action activists scaled the canopy above the entrance of Allianz Commercial, 60 Gracechurch St, City of London, and doused the building in red paint to represent the bloodshed of Palestinian people and Allianz’ role in the genocide in Gaza. This action comes just weeks after a coordinated wave of action struck 15 premises across Europe as Palestine Action continue to target the supply chains of Elbit Systems. Office windows were smashed and buildings were covered in red paint across Britain, Portugal, Germany, and The Netherlands, with an additional 10 actions taking place in October 2024, including a rooftop occupation of their British head office in Guildford.

Allianz was also targeted yesterday as a Palestine Action drone appeared above the Allianz Twickenham Stadium during the England v Italy match on Sunday. A Palestine flag was flown over the stadium during the 67th minute of the match, disrupting the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.

Allianz provide insurance for and invests in Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons supplier and manufacturer of over 85% of Israel’s drones. In January a report by Declassified, confirmed that Elbit had continued to directly supply Israel with weapons from Britain throughout the genocide in Gaza. The Israeli army has continued to launch air strikes and fire at Palestinians since the ceasefire went into force on Jan 20th. Allianz have continued to supply Elbit with insurance and are reported to have historically insured buildings in Nazi concentration camps.

This latest hit of Allianz follows confirmation that Barclays have withdrawn all shares in Elbit following similar sustained actions from Palestine Action and other groups last year. Reports suggest that the shares were withdrawn shortly after 20 branches were targeted in one night, leaving many of them closed for weeks. In addition to suppliers withdrawing their commercial support for Elbit, Elbit’s own facilities in Britain have been permanently shut down after repeat targeting by Palestine Action, including the closure of their Tamworth factory in 2024.

A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: “By providing insurance, Allianz is directly enabling the production of Israeli weapons in Britain which are “battle-tested” on Palestinians. As all companies who work with Elbit should know by now, Palestine Action’s direct action campaign against them will not cease until their links with the Israeli weapons trade does. Allianz must drop Elbit.”

ENDS 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Palestine Action is a direct action group committed to dismantling the apartheid regime in Israel through targeted campaigns against companies that profit from the occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people. Using disruptive tactics, Palestine Action challenges the corporate enablers of the Israeli state’s military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians. [palestineaction.org] 

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact: media@palestineaction.org