- Palestine Action have this morning shut down the Bristol Headquarters of Israel’s largest arms company, preventing operations at a key Elbit hub.
- The site is being occupied by activists who have scaled the building and are currently on the roof. Other activists have used fire-extinguishers to cover the building in blood-red paint, signifying the Palestinian bloodshed from which Elbit profits.
- Today’s action falls on the anniversary of the signing of the Balfour declaration, with Britain pledging support on November 2nd, 1917 for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people .. establishment of what became the Israeli state on Palestinian land
- This occupation – as with all other Palestine Action actions – is being taken to end the ongoing British complicity in Israeli apartheid, which begun with the signing of the Balfour declaration
- Simultaneous action was taken this morning at the London offices of Jones Lang LaSalle – Elbit’s landlords – who are complicit in the brutality carried out with Elbit-made weaponry.
Palestine Action have this morning shut down the Bristol Headquarters of Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems. Elbit are Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer, with their British production operating over 10 sites, to manufacture drones, military technology, weapons and vehicle components and more for Israeli forces. To undermine Elbit’s contribution to repression of Palestinian civilians, Palestine Action have been occupying and shutting down their UK sites for over a year – with this occupation being the latest.
Since gaining entry to the site at 600 Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol, three activists have been occupation of Elbit’s offices and are dismanling the site. Other activists also gained entrance to the site and used fire extinguishers to cover the building in blood-red paint, to signify the Palestinian bloodshed from which Elbit profits – these activists then evaded police to leave the site. After arriving on site, activists were met with a rapid police response, including police dogs, but managed to scale the building regardless.
Overnight, covert action was also undertaken at the London offices of Jones Lang LaSalle – landlords to Elbit Systems. Activists have covered the JLL building similarly in blood-red paint, with JLL having collected rent on Elbit-occupied properties, with this money generated directly through repression of Palestinians. Palestine Action have called on JLL to evict Elbit, and, until this is done, will continue the campaign of direct action against all firms complicit in Elbit’s business of bloodshed.
Elbit’s supplying of arms to the Israeli apartheid regime – with their murderous products being manufactured with impunity across British towns and cities – is just the latest instance in a long tradition of British complicity in Israeli war crimes. Since the signing of the Balfour declaration – in which Britain signed away Palestinian land which was not theirs to give – and the providing of geopolitical support for Israeli land seizures, Israeli apartheid and global immunity has been bolstered by British complicity. Nowadays, not only does the UK operate an extensive army, navy, and air force training and strategic partnership with Israel, but also deals with Elbit Systems directly – employing their Watchkeeper drones for both foreign invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as for repressing migrants in the English channel. These drones are also under consideration for domestic policing usage.
The occupation of Elbit’s Bristol Headquarters and halting the site’s operations is being undertaken as part of Palestine Action’s direct action techniques – with activists personally and physically intervening to prevent the firm’s operations, after all other political and protest-based routes to preventing British complicity with Israel’s war crimes have been consistently ignored.
Notes to Editors:
Palestine Action
Attatched are Images of today’s action, free to print or reproduce.
If you would like any further information on this action or on Palestine action, please contact media@palestineaction.org or our press line at 07404569733
Palestine Action is a direct-action network of groups and individuals formed with the mandate of taking direct action against Elbit Systems’ UK locations at grassroots level, calling for them all to be shut down and for the British government to end its complicity in Israeli apartheid.
Recent actions:https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2021/10/13/protestors-take-action-against-deeply-unpopular-liverpool-arms-fair/
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-palestine-israel-activists-occupy-elbit-drone-london-office
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/palestine-action-activists-shut-down-israeli-drone-factory-in-leicester
A Palestine Action activist on why he takes action against Elbit Systems: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/06/why-we-took-direct-action-against-apartheid/
Elbit Systems
Role of Elbit drone in killing of four children paying on Gaza beach in 2014: https://theintercept.com/2018/08/11/israel-palestine-drone-strike-operation-protective-edge/
More on the death and destruction inflicted by Elbit’s drones upon Gaza: https://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/
Elbit surveillance technology for Israel’s apartheid wall: https://www.facing-finance.org/en/database/cases/elbit-systems-surveillance-system-torch-for-the-separation-barrier-in-israelpalestine/
UK Ministry of Defence signs £102 million contract with Elbit Systems UK for “sensor-to-shoot” system: https://www.army-technology.com/news/uk-mod-orders-elbit-detect-and-destroy-system/
BREAKING: Palestine Action activists scaled up and shut down the Bristol HQ of Israel’s largest arms company.