HomeInternational NewsSeven arrested for violent unrest after break-in at Israeli defense company

Seven arrested for violent unrest after break-in at Israeli defense company

British anti-terrorism police have charged seven individuals with public disorder related to a break-in at a building owned by the Israeli defense company Elbit in south-western England. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Tuesday that the accused, aged between 20 and 51, face charges of criminal damage, public disorder, and aggravated trespass following the incident, which occurred on August 6th in South Gloucestershire. The CPS stated that they would present cases in court, claiming that the allegations have a terrorist connection.

Members of the activist group Palestine Action were scheduled to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Tuesday. Avon and Somerset Police reported that the group broke into the building and “seriously assaulted” employees after smashing through a gate with a vehicle and driving onto the premises. However, Palestine Action has denied the allegations of violence against police and security personnel, accusing the authorities of launching a “smear campaign” to influence the outcome of the trial and “lay the groundwork for the police’s unfair use of authoritarian power.”

In a statement, the group said, “We refuse to be intimidated into letting a genocide process take place.” On their website, Palestine Action describes themselves as an organization working to “end British complicity with Israeli apartheid.” The group adds that “direct action against Elbit aims to disrupt this: targeting the source of colonial violence and genocide against the Palestinian people and undermining Elbit’s profits from Israel’s daily massacres.”

Elbit is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer and is known for supplying approximately 85 percent of the land and air munitions used by the Israeli military. According to the company’s website, its British subsidiary employs 680 people across 16 locations and works on various programs for the British military.

Since its establishment in 2020, Palestine Action has forced the permanent closure of Elbit’s factory in Oldham and led the company to abandon its headquarters in London. In 2022, the group’s protest actions resulted in the cancellation of contracts worth £280 million ($358 million) between the British Ministry of Defence and Elbit Systems, prompting several British and European companies to sever ties with Elbit entirely.

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