PRESS RELEASE
10/10/22
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Two activists are to appear in Highbury Corner Magistrates Court tomorrow, in a three day ‘criminal damage’ trial after putting their bodies and liberties on the line to prevent Elbit’s manufacture of military technologies, drones, and products used in war crimes against Palestinians.
- The activists locked-on to the entrance to Elbit’s London headquarters, preventing the planning and overseeing of British operations by which Elbit manufacture technologies and hardware for Israeli and British military use.
- The London site, following months of action, has been reported as abandoned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company.
- This trial is one of many upcoming trials for Palestine Action activists, while other recent trials have been delayed or adjourned after Elbit Systems and the Crown Prosecution Service failed to prepare their evidence.
Two activists are to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court from tomorrow, the 11th October, in a trial expected to last for three days. The activists have been charged with criminal damage, after acting to disrupt the operations of Israel’s largest arms firm, Elbit Systems, at their former headquarters at 77 Kingsway in London. The two activists locked-on to the entrance of the building, placing their bodies in the way, preventing access and shutting down the site, while the entire facade of the building was also sprayed in blood-red paint. This action was a collaboration between members of XR Youth and Palestine Action, and was one of a string of high-profile actions taken to shut down the Headquarters of Elbit Systems in Holborn, London, which eventually resulted in Elbit abandoning its London Office.
These activists intervened to obstruct Elbit’s business-as-usual, which involves the manufacture of a range of military equipment, drones, surveillance gear and more, which is either used by the Israeli military or sold for export to repressive regimes. Elbit supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleets, and its products are marketed as ‘battle-tested’ after their deployment against Palestinians.
The action at Kingsway in April was taken in a context of brutal attacks on civilians by Israeli policy officers, who bombarded the Al-Aqsa mosque with grenades and tear gas, breaking windows and assaulting civilians who had attended the mosque to mark the holy month of Ramadan. Elbit Systems and its subsidiary IMI systems, manufacture the majority of small arms and munitions, including baton rounds, used by Israeli forces in attacks such as this one. Palestine Action use direct action to disrupt this business-of-bloodshed and prevent the British manufacture of weaponry used to brutalise Palestinians.
Last Wednesday a trial for 3 activists who had taken action at the Kingsway site was postponed, with the Crown Prosecution Service and Elbit having failed to prepare their prosecution case and provide their evidence. Those three activists locked-on and shut down the Kingsway site just two weeks prior to the April action of the activists entering court tomorrow. Furthermore, the trial of the ‘Elbit Eight’, eight activists including the founders of Palestine Action charged with a number of ‘conspiracy’ charges, was similarly postponed last week for a minimum of one year.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Pictures from the April action are available via this link https://bit.ly/PhotosTrial, free to print or reproduce with credit to be given to Calum Ford.
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.
If you would like any further information on Palestine action, please contact info@palestineaction.org. For updates on upcoming trials, visit our website.
Press Release of the April action in London: https://www.palestineaction.org/london-hq-youth/
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
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/