Palestine Action raid and dismantle Israeli arms factory

Editor’s Note: The following statement was released by Palestine Action on January 24, 2022. Mondoweiss occasionally publishes press releases and statements from organizations in an effort to draw attention to overlooked issues.

Palestine Action have raided Elbit System’s subsidiary, UAV Engines Ltd, in Shenstone, Staffordshire at 7.15 this morning. The activists have sprayed blood-red paint and begun dismantling the weapons factory, whilst occupying the roof to prevent site operations. With windows smashed and equipment dismantled, the action draws parallels with Israel’s forced demolitions of Palestinian homes, sounding the alarm on the ethnic cleansing Israel is currently enacting in Sheikh Jarrah, Palestine. 

Elbit Systems are Israel’s largest arms manufacturer and hold a significant presence in Britain. A key subsidiary, UAV Engines Ltd has been a target of Palestine Action since the group’s launch in July 2020, when activists shut the site five times in five months and caused millions of pounds of losses. UAV Engines Ltd manufacture engines and parts for Elbit drones, including the Hermes, which Elbit themselves describe as the ‘backbone’ of Israel’s drone fleet. These drones have been used to enact countless war crimes on Palestinian civilians. In reference to bombing of Gaza last May, an Israeli military general even stated “We operated day and night in cooperation with Elbit.”

Residents of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah are currently at the forefront of Israel’s settler-colonial project. This past week has seen violent arrests and the demolition of the home of one of Sheikh Jarrah’s 37 Palestinian families, with others handed cruel eviction notices. Furthermore, families are suffering harassment, intimidation and violence at the hands of settlers and police – who are outfitted with Elbit Systems’ surveillance products. The 2021 attack on Gaza started with the ethnic cleansing of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan. Elbit System’s military goods are fundamental to allowing this; Palestine Action know this and have taken action today in support of the residents of Sheikh Jarrah, undermining and debasing Israel’s military production in Britain. 

Two weeks, news was announced of the permanent closure of Elbit’s Oldham site. Since then, actions targeting Elbit’s factory in Shenstone have escalated, with the factory being occupied once more as part of the campaign to topple all of Elbit’s remaining factories.

A Palestine Action spokesperson has stated the following:

“Israel’s weapons trade is fundamental to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Elbit should know by now that we mean what we say: we will keep occupying, disrupting and dismantling their sites until they leave Britain for good. No matter how much security they hire, how much police priority they receive, our activists will find ways to shut them down. We’ve taken down one of their factories for good, and now we’re taking apart the rest.”

The following update was issued by Palestine Action four hours into the protest:

• The activists have broken into the factory interior, filling it with paint and smoke and damaging property below. Areas of brickwork have been removed by the activists. Exterior parts of the factory were also severely damaged – red paint was sprayed on the walls, gutters broken, rooftop windows broken into and high-value air conditioning units were knocked off, rendering the factory inoperable for the foreseeable future
• On-site security broke protocol, manhandling + harassing the activists, seizing + disposing of belongings
• Armed police (OFT) have been spotted, with riot police and a Territorial Support Group unit having been seen entering the building
• The activists have held out and continue to occupy the site