- At 4:30am this morning, Palestine Action stormed, scaled, and occupied the Runcorn Factory of APPH, a Canadian-owned aerospace company, which manufactures military technology and landing gear for Elbit Systems’ drones.
- The company supplies components for Elbit drone production at sites in Leicester and Shenstone, producing crucial technology and hardware for Israel’s drone fleet.
- Today’s action comes as Palestine Action widen and escalate their direct-action campaign, targeting those who enable Elbit’s production of murderous arms, including their suppliers and landlords. The storming of APPH Runcorn follows direct action taken yesterday at the headquarters of Elbit’s Landlords, LaSalle Investment Management.
- So far, activists have broken into the factory to dismantle drone and aircraft machinery, have destroyed property including floodlights, ventilators, windows and cameras, have sprayed blood-red paint across premises, and are currently occupying the roof to prevent operations at the site.
Palestine Action have taken control of the Runcorn factory of APPH, a supplier of Elbit’s drone technology. APPH, owned by Canadian firm, Héroux-Devtek, manufacture landing gear for Elbit’s drones, which are used to bombard and surveil Palestinian civilians before entering the global market, sold as ‘battle-tested’ to repressive regimes across the globe.
Today’s action follows the targeting of Elbit’s landlords, LaSalle, in London, yesterday morning (09/06/21). Palestine Action’s campaign to #ShutElbitDown will continue to escalate and expand in scope, targeting all those complicit in, and profiting from, Elbit’s arms and technology:
“Palestine Action will be targeting all firms which have dirtied their hands by partaking in Elbit’s business of bloodshed. Israel’s war crimes, and Elbit’s production of drones to facilitate these, rely on thousands of complicit suppliers, landlords, shippers, financiers, and more for their effective operations. It should be clear by now that we will not rest until Elbit is shut down, making the choice clear for all complicit firms: cease dealings with Elbit, or get shut down along with them”.
By shutting down a key supplier of Elbit’s drone technology, Palestine Action have broken another link in the global drone supply chain, halting the flow of combat drones to Israel where they would be used to repress, surveil, and bombard Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the Occupied Territories. Activists occupying the site are intending to be as disruptive as possible, having broken into the factory, dismantled machinery, destroyed property inlcuding smashed floodlights, ventilators, windows and cameras, sprayed blood-red paint over buildings, and taken control of the roof to prevent operations. Today’s actions seek to ensure APPH are unable to continue their participation in the production of drones for Israel’s war crimes.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Attached pictures are free to print and reproduce, with credit to be given to ‘VX Pictures’
If you would like any further information on this action or on Palestine action, please contact media@palestineaction.org or our press line at 07840150925
For rolling updates of ongoing actions please check the Palestine Action Twitter accountPalestine ActionPalestine 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.Why we take Direct Action to Shut Elbit Down: https://palestineaction.org/why-we-shut-elbit-down/Some previous Palestine Action occupations and actions:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-57184318https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-uk-leicester-activists-shut-down-arms-factoryhttps://palestineaction.org/palestine-action-strikes-again/https://palestineaction.org/tamworth-occupied/https://realmedia.press/palestine-action-occupy-elbit-again/
Elbit SystemsInformation on the death and destruction inflicted by Elbit’s drones: 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/