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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Palestine Action Blockade Leicester's Israeli Weapons Factory</h1>May 24, 2023</div>
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<img src="cid:ii_li4pqfnb0" alt="image.png" width="392" height="274"><br><p><em>Images and videos are available and free to use, under the folder ‘Day 24’:<a href="http://bit.ly/SiegeMedia" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">bit.ly/SiegeMedia</a></em></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In Leicester, and in Elbit’s 7 other remaining sites in Britain, weaponry is being manufactured and exported to Israel [<a href="http://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?index=date®ion=Israel&company=Elbit+Systems" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">1</a>].
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 [<a href="http://waronwant.org/sites/default/files/Killer%20Drones%2C%20War%20on%20Want.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">2</a>].</p>
<p>Palestine Action have pledged to keep the siege outside the
Israeli-owned Leicester branch running until Elbit leaves the country [<a href="https://palestineaction.org/siege" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">3</a>]. Having already shut down two of its ten sites in Oldham and London [<a href="https://www.palestineaction.org/victory-in-oldham/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">4</a>] [<a href="https://www.palestineaction.org/london-hq-shut/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">5</a>],
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.</p>
<p>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 [<a href="http://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">6</a>] [<a href="http://whoprofits.org/company/elbit-systems/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">7</a>].</p>
<p>A Palestine Action spokesperson has said:</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p><strong>ENDS<br>NOTES TO EDITORS</strong></p>
<p>If you would like any further information on Palestine action, please contact<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">info@palestineaction.org</a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>[1]<a href="https://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?index=date®ion=Israel&company=Elbit+Systems" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?index=date®ion=Israel&company=Elbit+Systems</a></p>
<p>[2]<a href="https://waronwant.org/sites/default/files/Killer%20Drones%2C%20War%20on%20Want.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://waronwant.org/sites/default/files/Killer%20Drones%2C%20War%20on%20Want.pdf</a></p>
<p>[3]<a href="https://palestineaction.org/siege" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://palestineaction.org/siege</a></p>
<p>[4]<a href="https://www.palestineaction.org/victory-in-oldham/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.palestineaction.org/victory-in-oldham/</a></p>
<p>[5]<a href="https://www.palestineaction.org/london-hq-shut/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.palestineaction.org/london-hq-shut/</a></p>
<p>[6]<a href="https://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://corporatewatch.org/elbit-systems-company-profile-2/</a></p>
<p>[7]<a href="http://whoprofits.org/company/elbit-systems/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">http://whoprofits.org/company/elbit-systems/</a></p>
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