Tag Archives: Israel

Palestine Action target Somerset Council over Elbit tenant 

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Elbit

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Activists submitted evidence of an action taken at Somerset Council, where they covered the building in red paint, bloody hand prints and spray painted messages which read ‘Elbit out’ and ‘Evict Elbit’.

Somerset Council are the landlords of Aztec West 600, the headquarters of Elbit Systems UK. Elbit Systems UK is owned by Israel’s largest weapons firm, who market their weaponry as “battle-tested” after they’re developed through assaults on the Palestinian people [1]. 

The Israeli weapons maker manufactures 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land-based equipment, as well as missiles, bombs and bullets [2]. Elbit’s CEO Bazhalel Machlis, who sits on the board of Elbit Systems UK, boasted of how the Israeli military has thanked the company for their “crucial” services during the ongoing genocide in Gaza [3]. 

Since October 7th, Israel has killed over 31,000 Palestinians, injured over 73,000 and displaced the vast majority of Gaza [4]. 

On two previous occasions, Somerset residents have disrupted council meetings urging for immediate action to be taken and for Elbit’s lease to be terminated [5] [6]. Amidst financial issues, the council has made plans to sell all of their commercial properties including Aztec West 600 [7]. 

However, residents have repeatedly emphasised that selling the property doesn’t absolve the council of their responsibility, and before any sale takes place the council must evict Elbit from their property. 

As the council have not yet taken such action, they remain on Palestine Action’s database of institutions and companies who profit from and enable Israel’s weapons trade [8]. 

The local group said: 

“By taking Elbit’s money, our council have Palestinian blood on their hands. By default, they’ve made the whole county of Somerset complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We refuse to stand by whilst the council continue to ignore our requests to evict Elbit. For the Palestinian people at the other end of Elbit’s weapons, we will continue to take action until the council kick Elbit out of Aztec West 600.”

ENDS

GAZA: ASK YOUR COUNCILLOR TO SUPPORT A CEASEFIRE

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There are a small number of councillors supporting the requests for City Hall to be lit in the cause of Palestine and the demand for a ceasefire on November 14th. Ask your councillor to support an open letter requesting the same:

Dear Councillor X,

Thank you if you have already signed the BCC ePetition on the Israel Gaza Conflict (https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=290…) and shared it with others. The online signatures have now reached 3,500 people in less than a week and many hundreds more have signed printed petitions which will also be submitted.

I would also like to encourage you to sign the BCC Councillors’ open letter that has been sent to your councillor email address. It is important that our elected politicians demonstrate that they have empathy with the people of Gaza and demand a ceasefire now.

Find your councillors email here: https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx

Press Release: Palestine Action Blockade of Elbit’s Bristol HQ Continues Overnight!

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elbit 2
Photo from Palestine Action

Palestine Action’s blockade of the only access to Elbit’s weapons headquarters in Bristol is continuing overnight. We’re calling on all media to cover the ongoing action at the premises.

The address is: Elbit Systems, 30 Hempton Lane, Bristol, BS32 4AR

Dozens are supporting activists who’ve attached themselves to each other and blocked the private road in Aztec West which leads to the premises, disrupting the site’s operation by preventing access. 

Elbit Systems supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleet, and 85% of its land-based military equipment, and are vital in the state terror inflicted on Palestine.

These actions happen at a time when Israel is mounting a campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing, bombarding Gaza and killing over 8,306 people, 40% of whom are children.

Last week, the Israeli Air Force announced its first use of Elbit’s ‘Iron Sting‘ mortar bomb on Gaza, a weapon which can penetrate double reinforced concrete from a range of 12 kilometers.

Medical teams in Gaza have reported seeing unusually severe burns on the bodies of Palestinians who have been killed or wounded by Israeli strikes, and have related these injuries to new weapons used by the Israeli military. 

Elbit Systems operates across the UK. The Bristol location, which is leased from Sedgemore District Council, is Elbit’s main operational facility. This action therefore hits at the heart of Elbit’s strategic centre, to cause obstruction to business as usual.

Previously, activists from Palestine Action smashed into the side and occupied the inside in May 2022, to mark 74 years since the Nakba (The Catastrophe) began. 

If you would like any further information on Palestine action, please contactinfo@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.