The Birmingham offices of property company ‘LondonMetric’ have been shut down this morning by Palestine Action, with a lock-on action to disrupt another link in Israel’s weapons supply chain. The offices’ windows have been smashed, and the building covered in blood-red paint, as activists have prevented access to the premises at 55 Colmore Row, Birmingham. The site has been shut down in opposition to LondonMetric’s partnership with Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems. 

LondonMetric owns the land and building at Unit F, Meridian Business Park, Meridian E, Leicester LE19 1WZ, from which Elbit operates their UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS) drone factory. U-TacS exports millions of pounds worth of drone technologies annually to Israel, including parts for armed Hermes drones. These drones have well-documented links to war crimes and are sure to play a significant role in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which so far has cost the lives of over 20,000 Palestinians. By leasing the Leicester U-TacS factory to Elbit, LondonMetric is in part responsible for the deadly products manufactured there and the Palestinian lives lost as a result.

LondonMetric’s Birmingham offices have previously been met with protests by the group Youth Front For Palestine, and action by Palestine Action will continue until the company end their association with Elbit. This strategy of expansive direct action, targeting companies which facilitate Elbit’s British operations, has seen Elbit’s property managers, recruiters, logistics providers and others met with resistance, calling for the cessation of their partnerships with Israel’s arms trade, as Palestine Action seeks to make the environment inhospitable for companies complicit in war crimes.