PRESS RELEASE
14/04/22
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Palestine Action have descended on Israeli arms company Elbit Systems again in Leicester, home to Elbit subsidiary UAV Tactical Systems. The site produced Hermes/Watchkeeper drones to be sold to the Israeli military for the murder and surveillance of Palestinians.
- A duo of activists arrived in the early morning of 14th April and attached themselves to a body ‘lock-on’ outside the gates, preventing their removal and preventing site access
- After a previous action at the site just three weeks prior, where activists caused site damage and barred access, the group vowed ‘not to leave until Elbit is shut down for good’
- Past actions have drawn out extensive and regular support from the local community. A talk from the group aimed at building on this support is planned to take place on Saturday 16th April at 62 Evington Valley Road
Just weeks after Leicester’s UAV Tactical Systems was targeted by Palestine Action, the group have again taken direct action at the site, which is an Elbit Systems subsidiary and producer of Israeli military drones. Activists took to the site at dawn, fixing themselves to a body ‘lock-on’ outside the factory gates, rendering access to the site impossible and production inoperable. Palestine Action have carried out a wave of actions in recent weeks, each one disrupting and dismantling the British operations of Elbit, who are Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.
Elbit’s Hermes drone is confirmed to be produced at UAV Tactical Systems, after having been sighted by members of Palestine Action who occupied the site roof in May 2021. The Hermes 450 is used extensively for surveilling and massacring Palestinians, and was used by the Israeli military in both the 2014 and 2021 attacks on Gaza. Its extensive use on the captive population of Gaza made possible the Watchkeeper drone, which was modelled on the Hermes 450.
Initally ‘battle-tested’ on Palestinians, Elbit now supply the British military with a number of Watchkeeper drones. As well as this, the Israeli-owned firm supply the Israeli military with 85% of its drones and are a key tenet in the Israeli state’s military capabilities. As with all our actions, activists have today sought to bring Elbit’s manufacture of such weapons to a grinding halt.
A Palestine Action spokesperson has stated the following:
“As promised, this year Palestine Action have accelerated the campaign to Shut Elbit Down with evermore frequent direct action. Leicester is a prime example of the growing support across the country for an end to Elbit’s business in Britain. Hundreds have turned up to protest the site’s operation and twice-weekly protests are ran outside the site. The tide is turning on Elbit, whose days are numbered when faced with community organising and direct action.”
This weekend, on Saturday 16th April at 62 Evington Valley Road, a talk will be hosted in Leicester by Palestine Action, seeking to draw on the community’s mounting opposition to UAV Tactical Systems’ existence. The event will examine Britain’s history of enabling and upholding Israeli apartheid – and how this can be rejected and undermined through direct action. Pro-Palestine activist and rapper Lowkey will be joining as a speaker, alongside Palestine Action co-founders Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard. The group has called on all supporters in the area to attend.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Please Credit Attached Photos to Calum Ford (Free to use)
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’ 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.
Elbit Systems
Company profile on Elbit Systems, including quote by Israeli military general: https://whoprofits.org/company/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/