How Does the Youth Movement 'Action Palestine' Disrupt the Israeli Military Industries in the UK?

In the style of the famous Spanish series La Casa de Papel, activists from the Palestinian Action movement continue to achieve unexpected successes against vital Israeli sites in the UK.

This movement, known as Palestine Action, has finally closed and obstructed the operation of several headquarters of the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems in Britain.

The youth movement targets all companies directly complicit in the continued Israeli military occupation and subsequent colonization of Palestine and the ethnic cleansing of its people.

Its activists wear the dress that featured the heroes of the series "La casa de Papel," which received a wide Arab following and is based on the idea of freedom from injustice.

 

Latest Successes

With red paint and robes, youth activists are fighting the Israeli occupation’s second-largest arms company inside the UK for contributing to the killing of Palestinians, especially during the recent wars in Gaza.

As announced in mid-April 2022, the movement was able to close two Elbit Systems sites specializing in the production of drones at the same time, one in London and the other in Leicester, a drone factory.

This was a temporary closure and ended with the disruption of staff in the two branches and the denial of access to their premises within the military manufacturers.

This also happened when activists closed another branch in the British village of Shenstone in February 2021.

The company now has nine locations across Britain, and they manufacture these weapons and export them to other repressive regimes around the world, says Huda Amouri, one of the movement's founders.

The 10th site was permanently closed in Oldham County in early 2022 after a successful lobbying campaign and demonstrations.

"The Oldham plant suffered a significant loss, with the company buying it for £15 million and selling it more than 10 years later for £9 million," Amouri told Al-Estiklal.

She explains that the campaign did not stop after the closure of the first plant but has since begun, "and we are taking all measures and continuing to take action against the remaining sites."

2021 was an epic year for the movement, which began in August 2020, and its mission against Elbit Systems was adopted worldwide, with its call for an end to "British collusion with Israel."

In 2020, the movement expanded its activities to target Elbit Systems' supply chain and continue the campaign against property owners who support the Israeli company such as Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

Activists have also recently targeted companies such as JC Bamford Musters Ltd, which supply bulldozers to the Israeli occupation to demolish Palestinian homes.

In a lengthy statement posted on its website, listing its harvest in 2021, it said it was proud of its work against Arconic in Birmingham, which "provides materials for Boeing and Lockheed Martin military aircraft used by the Israeli army."

"Our hearts were broken in May 2021, as we watched Elbit's rotting material explode throughout Gaza, where Israel launched an 11-day offensive against the besieged Gaza Strip," the statement said.

It continued: "The killing and destruction we have witnessed have increased the fuel of fire in our bellies, and we have seen more activists and donors join and support our battle here on British soil. We cannot continue here without the popular force that came out to support our work against Israeli aircraft."

 

Beginning and Methods

The movement is a group of people of different backgrounds, classes, and races who have decided to say "that's enough" and refuse to stand idly by as Britain continues to benefit from the persecution of the Palestinian people, it says on its website.

While the movement uses social media and workshops as areas of education and awareness, direct action is its first and last priority, namely, the on-the-ground confrontation of Israeli companies or their supporters within Britain.

Huda Amouri explains to Al-Estiklal that the launch of the movement was due to the same impressions about the cause of the Palestinian people and the continued viewing of scenes of massacre and ongoing ethnic cleansing.

"Britain has been complicit with the Israeli apartheid regime since the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which essentially called for the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population from their homes to this day," she said.

She said the campaign against Elbit Systems was launched because of its repeated provocations while marketing its weapons as tested and tested in the Gaza Strip.

The movement says there is enough education in Britain to understand the situation in Palestine, "and now it is time to use this knowledge to take action."

The movement uses a variety of tactics from direct action to civil disobedience to pressure companies to either end their complicity in the Israeli apartheid regime or leave.

The tactics used vary but consist largely of large protests, banditry, paint throwing, graffiti, and the destruction of Israeli military property.

The movement then shares its social media events to raise awareness of British complicity and the struggle against it.

"Direct action was not the first choice for most of the people involved, but after years of ignoring and continuing collusion and taking advantage of war crimes in Palestine, it is clear that only direct action can lead to change," the movement explains on its website.

"When your government is complicit in ongoing violations of international law and human rights, collective change can only be brought about through direct political and field action."

 

Hope Despite Obstacles

For Palestine Action activists, 2022 began with a large number of trials that continue each period against the targets of the Israeli weapons factory.

"No one is still in detention at the moment," Amouri said. Only two trials were conducted for activists who took action against Elbit in the magistrates' courts."

"During the first trial in December 2021, the judge acquitted all activists after giving evidence against Elbit, and the second case was disposed of halfway," she said.

Charges against others had been dropped prior to the trial, and a British judge found all the defendants not guilty, and "no activist who took direct action against Elbit was convicted."

"Our distorted justice system hosts activists for taking action against Israeli weapons and military deals by the British government," the website says.

He added: "As always, we stand strongly in our conviction that Elbit Systems and the UK Government are the real criminals, colluding with each other to keep arms deals flowing."

"Justice that cannot be found within the courts of colonial empire law, or by pressuring those who refuse to listen, will be found through the actions of committed actors, leading to a better world," explains an article published by the site in March 2022.

"The Palestine Movement is not guilty. It is their Elbit Systems and war crimes systems that should be blamed."

On its website and Twitter, the movement continues to call for action against the Israeli weapons plant.

"Reject the sense of paralysis and helplessness as violence escalates across Palestine," it says in one of its most interacted-with posts. “Take meaningful action today; show solidarity with the Palestinians, vent your anger and stop the bloodshed in Britain."