a day ago
Palestine Action ‘shut down' Elbit Systems HQ and subcontractor
Palestine Action said its activists occupied the rooftop of an Elbit Systems subcontractor as well as blockading the entrance to the arms manufacturer's UK headquarters in Bristol.
The direct-action group said the occupation 'successfully halted operations at Guardtech', a subcontractor which it said 'provides essential clean room services' to Instro Precision, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel's largest arms manufacturer.
The group published footage on X of its activists blockading the only entrance to the company's Bristol headquarters.
'Just a reminder we, Palestine Action, we are not the terrorists,' an activist said in the video.
"Elbit are the real terrorists'.
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Palestine Action said that Instro Precision cannot operate without Guardtech's services, which help to maintain 'controlled environments' needed to produce radar kits and targeting equipment.
This includes high-precision military electro-optical sensors that help Israeli troops and vehicles select targets.
According to a report by Declassified and The Ditch, cargo documents confirmed that Instro Precision has been exporting the equipment to Israel during its war on Gaza.
According to the documents, the company sent military tripods, tripod support systems, radar kits and aerial reflectors to Elbit factories in Israel between November 2023 and May 2025.
Elsewhere in Bristol, other activists targeted another Elbit Systems subsidiary, Aztec West, using a van and lock-on devices to blockade the site's only entrance and dousing it in red paint to symolise Palestinian blood.
The actions come as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper laid a draft order for the banning of Palestine Action under counter-terror legislation before parliament. On Wednesday, parliamentarians will vote on the order for the group's proscription.
'According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism'
- UN experts
If passed, the ban could come into force as soon as Friday, making membership of and support for the group illegal.
Palestine Action is seeking to challenge the move after the High Court granted the group an urgent hearing to consider a judicial review of the decision.
"While the government is rushing through parliament absurd legislation to proscribe Palestine Action, the real terrorism is being committed in Gaza. These daily atrocities are ones in which Elbit Systems is an active participant, as are those like Guardtech whom facilitate Elbit's business of genocide,' a Palestine Action spokesperson said in a statement.
'Palestine Action affirms that direct action is necessary in the face of Israel's ongoing crimes against humanity of genocide, apartheid, and occupation, and to end British facilitation of those crimes".
An 'unjustified labelling'
On Tuesday, UN experts raised concerns about the 'unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as 'terrorist,' warning the decision could have a 'chilling effect' on protest and advocacy in relation to Palestine.
'According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism,' they said in a statement, adding that they had been in contact with the UK government regarding the move.
Also on Tuesday, Amnesty International's UK CEO wrote to parliamentarians, warning that the group's proscription would be a 'grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers'.
'The proscription of Palestine Action would be wholly unnecessary, disproportionate, and in violation of the right to freedom of association and expression amongst other human rights at risk should this harmful and dangerous motion proceed,' the NGO's UK chief Sacha Deshmukh said.
This also comes as 18 members of Palestine Action appeared in Woolwich Crown Court on Monday and Tuesday, facing charges in relation to an action targeting Elbit's Filton-based research hub near Bristol. Crowds gathered outside the court to demand their release.
UK High Court grants Palestine Action urgent hearing to challenge ban Read More »
The 18 have been held on remand for nearly a year after they were arrested on terrorism charges in connection with the action in August 2024, when six activists drove a modified van into the research and development hub.
Six were arrested on site, while a further 12 activists were rounded up in connection with the action.
Despite now facing non-terror related charges, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a press release that it would argue in court that the offences have a 'terrorist connection', which could aggravate their sentences.
In January, four UN special rapporteurs wrote to the UK government raising concerns about the misuse of counter-terrorism measures to impose harsher detention conditions on the activists.
