Coordinated actions follow ending of Palestine Action prisoners’ hunger strike

~ Scott Harris ~

Hundreds of activists yesterday (28 January) blockaded entrances to arms factories in Lancashire, Newcastle and Edinburgh, shutting down the sites from early in the morning. Workers at the sites were unable to gain access, some for an entire shift.

The factories targeted were BAE Systems in Samlesbury, Leonardo in Edinburgh and Rafael in Newcastle. “Parts of being made in this factory that are used on the F-35 fighter jet, used in Gaza and beyond”, said a protester in Lancashire, “Doing this on a regular basis means supply and production is being severely affected”.

Groups from across the UK joined, travelling hours at a time to support the blockades. Police used force against protestors in Lancashire, manhandling them off the entrances and violently moving people along.

In Edinburgh, despite their best efforts, police could not break the blockade, and the factory was closed all day. “The genocide is ongoing, we just can’t let capitalism continue as normal”, said a participant, “Our government is specifically supporting the Israeli government, everybody that is out on the streets need to be proud of being on the right side of history”.

The previous night in London, swarms of campaigners targeted a luxury dinner attended by a number of arms dealers leading to arrests of protesters.

A focus on arms manufacturers has significantly increased as the last two years and a half have exposed the UK’s deep relationship with Israel, including their surveillance flights and monitoring that have been exposed by declassified. 

Top photo: Blockade of Leonardo in Edinburgh