Yesterday, activists from Palestine Action blockaded the Bristol HQ of Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems. By attaching themselves to each other using lock-ons, they prevented access into the central hub of Elbit’s lethal business. A Palestine Action spokesperson has said:
“Whilst Israeli weapons companies operate on our doorstep which assists in occupying, displacing and massacring the people in Gaza, it’s up to the people to take direct action to shut Elbit down. Every other method, including marches, petitions and lobbying, has failed to end British complicity in the occupation. We have the power, the ability and the will to shut the war criminals down ourselves.”
Using Elbit’s weaponry, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Most recently, the occupiers have begun massacring Palestinians in Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians were told to go in order to be safe. Over the past few months, over 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than 12,000 of whom are children.
Elbit Systems produces military drones, munitions, combat vehicles, missiles and other Israeli weaponry. The majority of their arms are marketed as “battle-tested”, as they’ve been developed by conducting bombardments of the Palestinian people. The Israeli weapons firm is crucial to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as claimed by Elbit’s CEO.
The owners of Elbit’s Bristol HQ, Somerset Council, were recently targeted by locals who crashed their executive meeting in order to call for the council to terminate the lease with Elbit.