Above Photo: VX Pictures.
Palestine Action activists have stormed, dismantled, and are currently occupying the Elbit Systems Elite KL site in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Activists are preventing operations and the production of drone parts, used by Israeli forces in the surveillance and bombardment of Palestinians. After two activists stormed the factory and smashed windows and property, another two have begun occupying the roof, spraying blood-red paint across premises.
Action follows brutalisation of Palestinians by Israeli forces over the weekend, with almost 400 injured as live ammunition was used against Palestinians protesting illegal land confiscation in the West Bank. Elbit’s technologies are central to the surveillance and repression of Palestinians in the occupied territories
This action is the third time that Palestine Action have occupied the site since February 2021, with the site being guarded by significantly heightened security. Today’s action – as with all Palestine Action occupations – intends to be as disruptive as possible to the flow of arms to Israel
At 6:00am on Monday 12th July, Palestine Action activists stormed the site of Elbit subsidiary Elite KL in Tamworth, Staffordshire, in order to prevent the manufacture of military hardware central to Israel’s ongoing repression of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Activists have entered the site, using direct action to succesfully stem the flow of murderous machinery for military vehicles and tanks to the Israeli police and military. Two activists initially entered the site and began smashing windows and other property, following which another two climbed the building, have begun occupying the site, and are spraying blood-red paint over premises.
Today’s action is the latest in Palestine Action’s campaign against Elbit Systems, with activists throughout the country putting their bodies and liberties on the line in direct solidarity with the Palestinian people. This sustained action is halting the manufacture of the munitions and machinery used to repress, murder, and surveil civilians in Palestine, ensuring that this mass suffering is not facilitated with UK-made armaments. Palestine Action have cost incalculable millions to the profiteers of war crimes, and direct action will continue until Elbit is permanently shut down.
The Elite KL site in Armington Industrial Estate, Tamworth, serves to manufacture military technology for the Israeli forces, including essential components such as computer systems, power units, and crew body armour used for Israel’s Minerva 4 battle tanks, which have been deployed extensively in assualts on Gaza. Elite KL, which was acquired by Elbit Systems in 2011, has been shut down by Palestine Action 3 times since Febrauary 2021, with the site also facing regular protests from local residents who refuse to be complicit in the suffering inflicted by Israel’s tanks and military.
This action comes in the wake of another wave of brutal repression of Palestinians by Israeli forces, with almost 400 injured in the West Bank town of Beita, some of whom were injured by live ammunition deployed against those protesting the illegal seizure of Palestinian land. Despite dwindling international attention following the declaration of an already invalid ‘ceasefire’, Israel’s repression of Palestinians throughout the occupied territories continues unabated – with much of this military and police repression relying heavily on Elbit products including surveillance systems, drones, munitions and more.