[News] Palestine Action Occupy and Dismantle Thales Weapons Factory in Glasgow

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestineaction.org
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Palestine Action Occupy and Dismantle Thales Weapons Factory in Glasgow[image:
image.png]
PRESS RELEASE

11/07/2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

* Palestine Action Scotland continues its work to end Scottish complicity
with Israeli apartheid, after four activists have begun an occupation of
arms company Thales’ factory in South Glasgow

* The team took to the roof in the early hours of the morning, forcing
workers to evacuate, preventing site operations and striking at Thales
through damaging site facilities

* Thales’ business enables warfare and repression – the company producing
missiles, drones and more. Of particular note is the Watchkeeper drone
project developed by Thales and Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems, in
collaboration.

Palestine Action Scotland have made their way back on the roof of weapons
company Thales’ factory in Glasgow. A team of activists scaled the roof at
dawn, and began causing severe damage to site facilities, forcing workers
to evacuate the building. Their occupation is ongoing, rendering Thales’
conveyor belt of weapons inoperable.

Thales is one of the world’s largest arms companies, producing military
drones, armoured vehicles, missile systems and more. Amongst the assorted
warfare-related hardware made by Thales, the Watchkeeper drone project
stands out. The project seeks to further the policing and surveillance of
captive populations belonging to the nations of Iraq, Palestine and
Afghanistan. Watchkeeper UAVs have also been trialled over British waters
by the UK Border Force, monitoring the flow of refugees seeking to enter
Britain.

The development of the Watchkeeper drone was done in cooperation by Thales
and Israel’s Elbit Systems; development drew heavily on knowledge gathered
from the constant use of Elbit’s Hermes 450 drones over Gaza’s skies.

Those in Gaza will often speak of how the drone’s constant presence,
including its persistent buzzing noise, induces anxiety and fear, and adds
to the constant state of trauma Gaza lives in. Stories like these have
prompted activists to ensure the root of the misery – Britain’s arms
industry, is struck at through direct action.

In Gaza, a team of Palestinian artists painted a mural dedicated to
Palestine Action, thanking the network of activists for their sacrifices
and victories against the British-Israeli arms trade.

Palestine Action Scotland is the Scottish wing of Palestine Action, the
direct action network that has struck severe blows to the operations of
Israeli-owned weapons company Elbit Systems. Commencing their second
action, the group have put bodies and liberties on the line in order to put
an end to a business of dispossession, occupation, and state-backed murder
that spans the world.
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