Above photo: Paul Ellis/AFP.
The closure of the Elbit systems factory comes as London escalates crackdowns on activists associated with Palestine Action.
Israeli arms producer Elbit Systems closed its site in Bristol, UK, after years of protests by Palestine Action, The Guardian reported on 6 September.
The facility at the Aztec West business park appeared deserted when the daily visited this week, with only a security guard present outside.
Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, has leased the site since 2019 under a contract running until 2029. The company did not comment on the status of the facility.
The site had been the focus of repeated protests, including one on 1 July, just days before the UK government banned Palestine Action under the 2000 Terrorism Act.
Demonstrators had previously occupied the roof, smashed windows, blockaded entrances, and covered the building in red paint.
Andrew Feinstein, a researcher of the global arms trade, called the closure “extremely significant,” describing Elbit as a key component of Israel’s military-industrial complex.
Company filings cited by The Guardian show Elbit Systems UK recorded an operating loss of about $6.16m last year, compared with a $4.98m profit in 2023.
Its parent company reported $6.8bn in revenue in 2023 and describes itself as the backbone of the Israeli military’s drone fleet.
The development coincided with day 700 of Israel’s genocide in Gaza as the enclave faces famine under the ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign.
On 3 September, six UK campaigners linked to Palestine Action were charged with 42 terrorism offenses for challenging the ban on the group. They were later released on bail under strict curfew conditions.
Earlier in July, the British parliament voted to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, a move condemned by critics as a grotesque and chilling overreach.
