The siege of UAV Tactical Systems by Palestine Action has reached day 70 and has largely been affected by the recent air strikes on the Palestinian city of Jenin by the Israeli military in the last couple of week. These killed at least 12 Palestinians, injured more than 100, and forced thousands to flee Jenin refugee camp. Weapon manufacturers in Britain are directly responsible for these, as they provide the Israeli military with the deadly machinery.
PalAction states that on June 21, “the Israeli military used a drone to assassinate three Palestinians in Jenin. An Elbit Hermes 450 carrying missiles was deployed in the extrajudicial execution of Mohammed Owais (28), Suhaib Al-Ghoul (27) and Ashraf Murad Al-Saadi (17). This was the first time a drone was used in an assassination in 21 years.”
Elbit Systems produces 85% of the Israeli military’s drones and labels their weapons as “battle tested” because they have been used by Israel to murder, maim and surveil the Palestinian population in Gaza. During the siege of UAV Tactical Systems as part of the action #ShutElbitDown, the actionists honoured the martyrs of Palestine.
In a further step of criminalising Palestine Action, four actionists have been sentenced to prison for an action against Teledyne Labtech, a supplier of components for missiles, military aircraft and drones, radar systems and more, in December 2022. Their action has dismantled over 1.2million worth of military equipment for Israel’s army. Three of the four actionists have received sentences of 23 months and one for 27 months, with half of the sentences to be served in prison. If you want to write to PalAction activists in prison, drop an email here: [email protected].
In solidarity with these actionists and in preparation for the International day of action for prisoners, over 75 public figures signed a statement demanding the release of the 7 PalAction actionists in prison and for all pending charges for over 100 actionists to be dropped.
To support the international day of action taking place on 22nd July, Palestine Action is asking for all supporters to organise solidarity actions and protests under the banner “Free the actionists”. You can take part by protesting outside your local CPS office or at a company which facilitates the production of Israeli weapons. More information and ideas for different actions you can take can be found here on their website: palestineaction.org/prisoners-day-of-action
Photo: Palestine Action honours the martyrs of Palestine at their siege of UAV Tactical as part of #ShutElbitDown
