Palestine Action activists convicted in UK over raid on Israeli defense firm

The defendants damaged equipment at Elbit’s factory in Bristol, suspecting it was supplying the Israeli military with arms used in the Gaza war

A British court has convicted four members of the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action over a 2024 raid on an Israeli-linked defense facility in Bristol, which they suspected was supplying the Israeli military with arms.

The case has caused debate over the UK’s role in Israel’s destruction of Gaza, occupation of the West Bank and invasion of Lebanon. The government has been widely criticized for its use of anti-terror legislation to strangle reporting on the case, restrict jury nullification and legal representation, as well as the extraordinary length of pre-trial detention the activists were subject to.

The Palestine Action group has been proscribed in Britain, which has lead to a series of bizarre arrests of demonstrators bearing a placard bearing the group's name at Pro-Palestine events throughout the country. 

The defendants drove a decommissioned prison van through the gates of a plant belonging to Israel's largest defense electronics contractor, Elbit Systems, in August 2024. They destroyed computers, drones, and other equipment, while clashing with security and police, claiming to want “save lives in Palestine.” They caused an estimated £1 million ($1.36 million) in damage. 

Their lawyers said all six defendants admitted to the destruction, but denied criminal damage, telling the jury they aimed to “dismantle drones and weaponry” they believed would be used to kill civilians in Gaza.