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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Palestine Action Occupy and Dismantle Thales Weapons Factory in Glasgow</h1><img src="cid:ii_l5gvtq1y0" alt="image.png" width="457" height="305"><br>PRESS RELEASE</div><div class="gmail-content"><div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div>
<p>11/07/2022</p>
<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</p>
<p>* 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</p>
<p>* 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</p>
<p>* 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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