[News] Palestine Action Blockade Leicester's Israeli Weapons Factory

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestineaction.org <https://www.palestineaction.org/siege-day-24/>
Palestine Action Blockade Leicester's Israeli Weapons FactoryMay 24, 2023
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[image: image.png]

*Images and videos are available and free to use, under the folder ‘Day
24’:bit.ly/SiegeMedia <http://bit.ly/SiegeMedia>*

On the 24th day of Palestine Action’s siege against Leicester’s Israeli
Elbit factory — UAV Tactical Systems, another blockade has successfully
locked down the company’s only entrance gates in the early hours of this
morning.

An immovable vehicle and two Palestine Actionists have locked-on in the
road outside the perimeter fence, evading their paramilitary-style security
workforce, the site’s surveillance cameras, and inhibiting the company’s
ability to open by blocking staff entry.

In Leicester, and in Elbit’s 7 other remaining sites in Britain, weaponry
is being manufactured and exported to Israel [1
<http://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?index=date&region=Israel&company=Elbit+Systems>].
Leicester’s UAV Tactical Systems’ flagship product, the Watchkeeper drone,
has been used extensively by the British military in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
over the English Channel – the Watchkeeper is modelled on the notorious and
deadly Hermes, openly marketed as ‘battle-tested’ on the captive
Palestinian population [2
<http://waronwant.org/sites/default/files/Killer%20Drones%2C%20War%20on%20Want.pdf>
].

Palestine Action have pledged to keep the siege outside the Israeli-owned
Leicester branch running until Elbit leaves the country [3
<https://palestineaction.org/siege>]. Having already shut down two of its
ten sites in Oldham and London [4
<https://www.palestineaction.org/victory-in-oldham/>] [5
<https://www.palestineaction.org/london-hq-shut/>], community support for
the siege in Leicester is growing rapidly, causing a steady supply of
locals to arrive each day. Eminent speakers and supporters who have joined
include former South African politician Andrew Feinstein, who worked
alongside Nelson Mandela and British rapper and activist Lowkey.

Elbit, Israel’s largest private weapons company, of which UAV Tactical
Systems is a subsidiary, supplies 85% of Israel’s drones, as well as 85% of
its land based military equipment. Its products, including the Hermes, have
been linked to several documented assaults on the Palestinian people [6
<http://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/>] [7
<http://whoprofits.org/company/elbit-systems/>].

A Palestine Action spokesperson has said:

“Since our siege began, and in just 24 days, 55 Palestinian people have
been killed by the Israeli regime —at least 33 were killed in this month’s
ritual bombing of Gaza, and we know that Elbit’s drones were used during
this campaign. For Palestine, we will not leave until Elbit does.”


*ENDSNOTES TO EDITORS*

If you would like any further information on Palestine action, please
contactinfo at palestineaction.org

Palestine Action is a direct-action network of groups and individuals
formed with the mandate of taking action against the sites of Elbit Systems
and other companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, calling for all such
sites to be shut down.

[1]
https://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?index=date®ion=Israel&company=Elbit+Systems
<https://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?index=date&region=Israel&company=Elbit+Systems>

[2]
https://waronwant.org/sites/default/files/Killer%20Drones%2C%20War%20on%20Want.pdf

[3]https://palestineaction.org/siege

[4]https://www.palestineaction.org/victory-in-oldham/

[5]https://www.palestineaction.org/london-hq-shut/

[6]https://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/

[7]http://whoprofits.org/company/elbit-systems/
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