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<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Palestine Action Activists
Found NOT GUILTY After Defacing Israeli Arms Company</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">6 Dec 2021 <br>
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<p><strong>PRESS RELEASE 06/12/21<br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Palestine Action activists, the ‘Elbit Three’,
have been declared ‘not guilty’ after taking action
against Elbit Systems’ subsidiary UAV Engines in
February 2021.</li>
<li>The landmark case – the first time that
individuals have gone to trial for direct action
taken against Elbit Systems – represents a
significant defeat for both Elbit and the Crown
Prosecution Service, who attempted to prosecute
people taking a stand to undermine the production of
Israeli drones.</li>
<li>Criminal damage charges were brought after
activists locked onto gates and threw red paint over
the premises of Elbit subsidiary UAV Engines in
Shenstone, Staffordshire. The factory produces drone
engines for a range of drones manufactured by Elbit
Systems, who are Israel’s largest private arms
company.</li>
<li>Activist: “You have to do something, if you do
nothing then Elbit continues to make its smart
weaponry which enables Israel to kill efficiently.
Elbit has no business being allowed to be in the UK.
It has no values that are shared with humanity”</li>
</ul>
<p>Three Palestine Action activists, dubbed the ‘Elbit
Three’, have today been found not guilty of criminal
damage charges in a trial taking place at
Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates Court. The trial,
which commenced on Friday 3rd December, saw Elbit
Systems and the Crown Prosecution Service attempt to
criminalise individuals who took a stand against the
manufacture of drones and drone parts. The products
manufactured at the site of the protest, the UAV
Engines factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire, are key
components for a range of Elbit’s combat drones, used
extensively by Israel for bombardments of Gazan
civilians. </p>
<p>Elbit Systems are Israel’s largest private arms
company, supplying 85% of Israel’s drone fleet. Their <em>Hermes</em> drones,
manufactured with UK-made components, are regularly
deployed in bombardments of Gaza, with Elbit also
supplying a range of surveillance equipment,
armaments, and specialist military technologies for
the Israeli military and police. Palestine Action have
undertaken a campaign of sustained direct action
against Elbit Systems – across their 10 sites in the
UK – with this action in Shenstone having occured in
January 2021, six months since Palestine Action
launched. Despite many dozens of actions taken, and
over £15,000,000 in damages caused (according to
police), this is the first time that activists had
faced trial, with all previous charges having been
dropped in the run-up to trial dates.</p>
<p>The presiding judge, Judge Waites, stated that the
Crown had failed to prove that convicting the
defendents would be proportionate with their freedom
to protest. He stated further points which included:
Palestine is an important issue, the arms trade is an
important issue, the defendants believed in what they
were doing, and the location was specifically chosen.
These are the points that Palestine Action has long
stated: through targetted and deliberate direct
action, individuals can make a measured impact on the
lives of civilians in Palestine by disrupting and
undermining Israel’s arms trade.</p>
<p>This verdict represents a serious defeat for Elbit
Systems, who have long maintained that their business
is lawful and that they are therefore to be protected
from such actions. This belief has been shared by the
British state: the police have offered a
round-the-clock rapid response and extensive
protection to Elbit’s death factories, and the CPS
have attempted to prosecute those who take a stand
against Elbit’s business of bloodshed.</p>
<p>The defence, represented by Palestinian barrister
Mira Hammad and Richard Brigden of Garden Court North
(instructed by Kelly’s solicitors), presented their
case that the action taken was to prevent a greater
crime. An activist involved in the trial elaborated,
stating that the action was taken to shut down the
factory for one day in an attempt to stem the flow of
drones and stop the bombings. They stated that Elbit
provide 85% of Israel’s drones, with Elbit describing
themselves as the ‘backbone’ of the Israeli airforce,
adding that there is extensive documentation of the
drones being used for attacks on the civil population
of Gaza. They stated that this is not only during
intensive military excursions, but also for
extrajudicial killings and indescriminate bombings –
with Elbit drones being linked directly to the killing
of four children playing on a beach in Gaza in 2014.</p>
<p>Another activist, Sarah, later stated that:</p>
<p>“Throwing this paint may not protect Gaza. What
protects Gaza is stopping the bombing. Elbit produce
weapons, tanks and drones used to commit crimes
against humanity, and this is what is is unlawful.
Export licenses should not be granted while Elbit
continue to violate human rights. In the face of these
crimes, you have to do something. If you do nothing,
then Elbit continues to make its smart weaponry which
enables Israel to kill efficiently. Elbit has no
business being allowed to be in the UK. It has no
values that are shared with humanity”. Following this,
a standing ovation was given from the public gallery.</p>
<p><strong>ENDS<br>
NOTES TO EDITORS</strong><br>
Pictures, free for publication, can be accessed here: <a
href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7kg6roy4zy1p9z0/AACk7pfRqvJUTR-l6w-ThSTca?dl=0"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7kg6roy4zy1p9z0/AACk7pfRqvJUTR-l6w-ThSTca?dl=0</a>Initial
press release for the February action: <a
href="https://palestineaction.org/action-roof-shenstone/"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://palestineaction.org/action-roof-shenstone/</a></p>
<p>If you would like any further information on
Palestine action, please contact <a
moz-do-not-send="true">media@palestineaction.org</a> or
our press line at 07404569733</p>
<p>Palestine Action is a direct-action network of groups
and individuals formed with the mandate of taking
direct action against Elbit Systems’ UK locations at
grassroots level, calling for them all to be shut down
and for the British government to end its complicity
in Israeli apartheid.<br>
Recent actions:<a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-palestine-israel-activists-occupy-elbit-drone-london-office"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2021/10/13/protestors-take-action-against-deeply-unpopular-liverpool-arms-fair/<br>
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-palestine-israel-activists-occupy-elbit-drone-london-office</a><a
href="https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/palestine-action-activists-shut-down-israeli-drone-factory-in-leicester"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/palestine-action-activists-shut-down-israeli-drone-factory-in-leicester</a></p>
<p>A Palestine Action activist on why he takes action
against Elbit Systems:<a
href="https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/06/why-we-took-direct-action-against-apartheid/"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"> https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/06/why-we-took-direct-action-against-apartheid/</a></p>
<p><strong>Elbit Systems</strong></p>
<p>Role of Elbit drone in killing of four children
paying on Gaza beach in 2014: <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2018/08/11/israel-palestine-drone-strike-operation-protective-edge/"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://theintercept.com/2018/08/11/israel-palestine-drone-strike-operation-protective-edge/</a></p>
<p>More on the death and destruction inflicted by
Elbit’s drones upon Gaza: <a
href="https://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/</a></p>
<p>Elbit surveillance technology for Israel’s apartheid
wall: <a
href="https://www.facing-finance.org/en/database/cases/elbit-systems-surveillance-system-torch-for-the-separation-barrier-in-israelpalestine/"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.facing-finance.org/en/database/cases/elbit-systems-surveillance-system-torch-for-the-separation-barrier-in-israelpalestine/</a></p>
<p>UK Ministry of Defence signs £102 million contract
with Elbit Systems UK for “sensor-to-shoot” system: <a
href="https://www.army-technology.com/news/uk-mod-orders-elbit-detect-and-destroy-system/"
rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.army-technology.com/news/uk-mod-orders-elbit-detect-and-destroy-system/</a></p>
<p><span></span> <span>Post Views:</span> <span>783</span>
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