PRESS RELEASE
11/10/21
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Breaking: Liverpool Arms Fair OCCUPIED by Palestine Action
- The site of the Liverpool Arms Fair, due to open tomorrow morning, has been occupied by Palestine Action activists, who are currently on the roof of the venue, the ACC Arena.
- After a dozen activists stormed the site, two are currently occupying the roof to disrupt the commencement of the event.
- Activists are occupying the site in order to prevent the normalisation of war crimes – war crimes which event attendees facilitate through their export of arms to Israel and elsewhere
At the ACC Arena – the site of the Liverpool Arms Fair, which is due to commence tomorrow morning – activists have begun occupation of the event venue, to prevent the firms in attendance from conducting their business of bloodshed in Liverpool.
Due to appear at the fair – in attendee, key note speaker, and marketing capacities – are a number of the world’s most morally despicable companies: from Elbit Systems, to ELTA, Raytheon, L3 Harris, BAE Systems and more. Fairs such as this would offer these companies the opportunity to showcase their products to governments and procurement agencies across the globe, and by holding these fairs in major cities in broad daylight, organisers are attempting to normalise their murderous operations.
Altogether, 4 Israeli arms firms and 13 International arms firms which supply the Israeli military were due to appear at the event. These firms are already complicit in war crimes, repression, and apartheid in Palestine, and it is immoral and insulting to then invite them to hold their discussions and sales talks in our towns and cities. Local residents, organising groups, and councillors have all spoken out against the arms fair, with protests taking place over the last month in an attempt to have the event cancelled. The council, event and venue organisers were all happy to ignore these calls – leaving direct action to stop the fair as the only viable option for activists.
After a dozen activists stormed the site at 19:00 Monday evening, two activists successfully scaled the building, and are occupying the ACC roof. Ahead of tomorrow’s event, activists will endure police harrassment, intimidation, and removal attempts, and are hoping to prevent the arms fair from opening in the morning.
The action will continue as long as it can, and aims to be as disruptive as possible. A Palestine Action spokesperson has said the following:
“This event cannot be allowed to go ahead. Liverpool’s residents don’t want arms dealers and war criminals gathering in their city, and its presence is an insult to our Palestinian, Iraqi, Afghan citizens, and all others whose homelands have been devastated by the products of Raytheon, Elbit, ELTA, and the other despicable firms meeting in the ACC. After the council and event organisers failed to act, our activists have taken it upon themselves to uphold human rights by disrupting this festival of criminality.”
This occupation of the ACC is an escalation of previous protests and actions taken across the city. After thousands gathered to voice their opposition to the event, other actions by Palestine Action have involved covering the venue in blood-red paint, but these calls to stop the arms fair have been ignored as organisers press ahead with this unwelcome and unethical meeting.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Attached are images of today’s action, free to use with credit to be given to Neil Terry Photography
For more information on the action or on Palestine Action please contact media@palestineaction.org
Palestine Action
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.
Palestine Action take action against the DSEI arms fair, London (12/09/21) https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210920-apologies-and-compensation-are-simply-not-good-enough-for-the-victims-of-drone-attacks/
Palestine Action take action against the Liverpool arms fair (11/09/21): https://palestineaction.org/liverpool-arms-fair/
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/