Lock-on devices inside vans used to block the gates of Israeli arms company R&D hub in Filton and headquarters at Aztec West

~ Scott Harris ~

Palestine Action says its activists today blockaded the entrances of two sites in Bristol operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company. The activists used lock on devices inside vans to block the gates at both sites.

One of the sites, at Filton, is the most recent of Elbit facilities in England, the brand new £35m R&D hub of Israel’s biggest weapons firm. The other site is Elbit’s headquarters at Aztec West 600. This HQ is used by used by Elbit to oversee their logistical, financial, and operational affairs throughout the country, making it a key hub for Israel’s arms trade in Britain.

This is the latest in a series of actions undertaken at the site since the start of Palestine Action’s campaign. According to Israeli media, Elbit provides up to 80% of the Israeli military’s land based military equipment and 85% of its military drones. It supplies vast numbers of munitions and missiles – including the ‘Iron Sting’ recently developed and deployed for the first time in Gaza, along with wide categories of surveillance technologies, targeting systems, and other armaments.

“Direct action against Elbit aims to disrupt this: targeting the source of colonial violence and genocide against the Palestinian people, undermining Elbit’s profiteering from Israel’s daily massacres”, said the group in a press release.