Four women activists were thrown to the ground and arrested after spraying the doors of Elbit’s London HQ blood red in the middle of a protest to demand the Israeli arms firm shut down.
The four burst out of a car branding fire extinguishers and buckets of red paint at around 2PM and doused the doors of 77 Kingsway – the London HQ of murderous Elbit – police officers protecting the war criminals and zionist counter protestors in red paint. Red paint gushed from the doors and flowed down the street, showing who really sits behind the doors of 77 Kingsway.
Officers immediately descended on the women activists wrestling them down to the ground while they continued to shout: “shut elbit down!”
The driver of the activist car was also arrested and a journalist.
The action happened as dozens of protestors gathered outside the offices, holding giant banners saying: “Shut Elbit Down” and “Stop Arming Israel”.
It also comes three weeks after activists shut down an Elbit-owned factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire, for three days, causing £160,000 in damage.
Elbit is Israel’s largest private arms firm and provides the Israeli military with over 80% of its drone fleet.
But it’s destructive reach goes beyond Palestine.
Earlier this year the British government awarded Elbit a contract worth nearly £1 million to develop an unmanned drone for heightened surveillance of asylum seekers in the Channel.
The technology will be based around the Hermes 900 – Elbit’s armed drone that was deployed extensively during the 51 day attack on Gaza in 2014 when over 2,200 Palestinians including 500 children were killed.
Palestine Action refuses to sit back while arms dealers are allowed to freely trade in death and destruction on our doorsteps. We refuse to watch in silence while refugees fleeing war zones are tracked by sinister military-grade drones – the very same used to bomb civilians in Gaza.
This is why we are calling all those who uphold human rights to join us outside 77 Kingsway at 1pm this Saturday to demand Elbit shut down for good – enough is enough.
Due to Covid restrictions we will be asking protesters to form socially distanced groups of six.
In the tradition of Palestine Action, further disruptions will be in store.
Huda Ammori, Palestine Action says: “The UK has been complicit in the colonisation of Palestine for over 100 years and now continues to profit from Elbit’s battle-tested weapons on Palestinian civilians. Whilst the UK government continue to profit and maintain Israel’s violations of international law, we will take direct action to fight for the oppressed. It is now up to the people to take direct action to shut Elbit down for good. “
Notes to editors
– Elbit Systems UK has 10 sites across the country, including four arms factories and own’s four subsidiaries and two joint ventures.
– Elbit Systems drones trialled to monitor UK waters:
– Use of Elbit Systems’s equipment in Gaza:
ABOUT PALESTINE ACTION
– Palestine Action is a non-violent network of direction action group spread across the UK that has come together to promote civil disobedience against the companies and institutions that Israel uses to violently enforce apartheid, occupation and colonisation on the people of Palestine.
– Launched two months ago, Palestine Actions has targeted Elbit sites across the country over a dozen times, including two occupations of its London HQ.
– Our rapidly growing movement has already caught the attention of the Israeli government. Last month Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Orit Farkash met with UK Defence Secretary Dominic Raab to demand ministers take action against Palestine Action.
– Palestine Action has also targeted Elbit’s landlord LaSalle Investment Management at its office in Mayfair to demand it kick out the arms dealers.