PRESS RELEASE
01/09/22
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pictures are free to use, with no credit needed: bit.ly/PalCampPhotos
- Activists from Palestine Action continue to hold their ground six days after they set up camp outside one of Elbit Systems’ (Israel’s largest arms company) eight remaining sites in Britain
- The crew have scaled the surrounding trees, whilst also manning a ground camp directly outside Israeli drones factory ‘UAV Engines’. They intend to stay there until site closure
- On Tuesday, they were met with local support – as members of local protest group ‘South Staffs Palestine Solidarity’ arrived, beginning a sit in outside the factory which continues to date
- Meanwhile Staffordshire police responded with hourly patrols and overnight protection
- After 2 years of direct action, the factory faces renewed pressure as the campaign accelerates. Inside the factory, parts production takes place for military drones such as the Hermes 450
The Palestine Action camp enters its sixth day outside Elbit’s UAV Engines, an Israeli drones factory in the midlands village of Shenstone. They have been met with strong support from a local protest group, who on Tuesday took to protest at the site and set up camp themselves directly outside of the factory. By the day, the camp’s numbers are growing, and support for site closure is skyrocketing.
UAV Engines is one of Elbit Systems’ eight remaining British sites. Elbit play a crucial role in the mechanics of occupation and apartheid – a fifth of the company’s sales are to Israel, but Elbit supply the Israeli military with a majority of its arms. Over the years, Elbit arms have meant death for countless Palestinian men, women and children, for instance, the four boys who in 2014 were killed by an Elbit drone whilst playing on a beach in Gaza. In Elbit’s own words, their arms are “battle-tested” on Palestinians.
The site has long been a target for the #ShutElbitDown campaign (having been hit five times in the past two months) owing to its manufacture of parts for drones such as the Watchkeeper UAV, used for surveillance here in Britain, and the Hermes 450/900 UAVs, put to near-constant military use in Palestine – as was the case earlier last month, when builidings and infrastructure in Gaza were reduced to rubble by Israeli forces.
However, protest camps as a tactic are new to Palestine Action, made possible by a growth in membership and support. The permanent presence of activists on site will mean Israel’s largest arms company is struck at from all angles – including the usual direct action. It was met with hourly police patrols and overnight protection from police, who as usual, are the first to defend Elbit.
The addition of supporters and protestors joining in the struggle has been a welcome addition for the activists, who intend to to hold the ground until site closure. It was direct action that forced the company to abandon both a factory and a headquarters, and UAV Engines will be no different, with activists seeking permanent closure, promising “not a day’s rest for the war criminals until Elbit is gone”.
In a statement from the camp, a spokesperson said: “In less than a week we’ve had several dozen protestors and supporters join in the struggle to #ShutElbitDown in Shenstone. As Palestine Action, we’ve seen this kind of support all across the country – whether it was in Leicester, where 500 turned up in support of our activists, or in Manchester, where weekly protests accompanied direct action in forcing the closure of Elbit Ferranti, it’s quite clear that the people want Elbit gone from their streets. We have Israel’s warlords outnumbered – time to pack your bags and leave.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Pictures are free to use, with no credit needed: bit.ly/PalCampPhotos
Elbit forced to close its London HQ: https://mondoweiss.net/2022/06/israeli-weapons-maker-shuts-london-hq-following-sustained-protest/
Elbit closes Oldham factory in January: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/uk-admits-activists-forced-elbit-sell-factory
If you would like any further information on Palestine action, please contact info@palestineaction.org
Palestine Action is a direct-action network of groups and individuals formed with the mandate of taking direct action against Elbit Systems’ British locations at grassroots level, calling for them all to be shut down and for the British government to end its complicity in Israeli apartheid.
ELBIT SYTEMS
Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest arms firm, with 8 remaining sites in Britain. They build weapons include drones, artillery and target acquisition software in Britain. All of which are marketed as “battle-tested” or “combat-proven”, as they’ve been tested on the captive population of Gaza.
Company profile on Elbit Systems: https://whoprofits.org/company/elbit-systems/
Role of Elbit drone in killing of four children playing 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/