For Nablus, Palestine Action storms an Israeli Elbit factory
3 Min Read
Less than a day after the IOF raided Nablus, Palestine Action descended on “Israel's” Elbit Systems' Shenstone factory, striking the site's exterior.
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Activists storming Elbit Systems' Shenstone factory (VX Pictures)
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) brutally raided Nablus on Sunday using stun grenades, live bullets and guided missiles, killing two Palestinians and injuring nine others.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that martyrs Aboud Sobah, 29, and Muhammad Al-Azizi, 22, have died after sustaining critical injuries as a result of the Israeli incursion.
The IOF also surrounded a house in the area and fired a number of guided missiles at it.
In order to deliver a message to the Israeli occupation that its violence will go not unchecked, members of Palestine Action descended on “Israel's” Elbit Systems' Shenstone factory, striking the site's exterior and throwing red paint at it.
In a press release on its website, Palestine Action confirmed that its “activists took action today seeking to dismantle an industry built on occupation, dispossession, and warfare across the globe”.
BREAKING: Palestine Action have descended upon drone factory UAV Engines LTD, wreaking havoc for Israel's largest weapons company, Elbit Systems #ShutElbitDown pic.twitter.com/RFjwbTn6HW
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) July 24, 2022
Tested on Palestinians
The components that make up Elbit's military drones, including the Hermes 450 and 900, are manufactured on-site at the Shenstone factory and used extensively in surveillance and aggressions on Palestinians, most notably in the blockaded Gaza strip.
Elbit also manufactures the Watchkeeper drone, which is based on the Hermes 450 and is supplied to the British military, border force, and other governmental agencies. At home, the Watchkeeper is used to police British citizens and monitor migrants attempting to cross the English Channel.
The arms company's clientele is global; its military goods are sold and used for everything from mass repression to aerial and maritime surveillance.
The Hermes 450/900 drones have been a fixture in Gaza for many years. They are a constant presence in the skies, distinguished by their distinct buzzing, and the threat of bombing is always present. According to Elbit, the drones are "battle-tested" in occupied Palestine - that is, they are tested on captive Palestinian populations before being sold to militaries around the world.
It is also worth noting that Elbit drones are sold in large quantities to “Israel” (Elbit drones account for 85 percent of the Israeli drone fleet) and used to keep entire populations living in fear, under constant siege.
Palestine Action noted in its press release that “91% of children in Gaza are suffering from PTSD”.
“Today’s action has been taken in their name, with a promise of resistance until victory – an end to Britain’s complicity, and a Palestine free from the horrors of occupation and state terror, “it added.
Read more: “I am too young to die”: Children in Gaza left traumatized
A Palestine Action spokesperson has also stressed that “Elbit drones are made in Britain, tested on Palestine then sold back to the British military, amongst others. The British military holds deep ties with Elbit – Britain is an accomplice in an international industry built on occupation, one where technology is suited not to meet human needs, but to further repression and terror. We can only cut these ties with direct action taken by the masses – ordinary people, willing to make sacrifices in order to end our collective complicity.”
