Israeli Arms Maker Reportedly Shuts Down UK Branch After Repeated Protests

Major Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems has reportedly shut down a U.K. facility after it was repeatedly targeted by Palestine Action activists, in a major victory for the group that was recently banned by the U.K. government.

The Guardian reported on Saturday that one of the company’s Bristol facilities, in Aztec West, appears abandoned, with no staff other than a security guard outside of the premises. This is despite the company’s lease on the facility not set to expire until 2029.

Palestine Action had targeted the facility and other Elbit buildings in the U.K. with numerous protests, pouring red paint on the facility and halting operations by occupying the roof and blocking the entrance. Some of these actions came even as the U.K. was in the process of proscribing the group.

“We need to remind ourselves that Elbit (Systems) is one of the two most important Israeli arms films, along with [Israel Aerospace Industries], that is it is obviously a key component of Israel’s military industrial complex,” global arms trade expert and South African politician ​​Andrew Feinstein told The Guardian.

Feinstein said the plant closure is “extremely significant.”

Elbit plays a major role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and assault on the occupied West Bank. It makes most of the Israeli military’s drones, as well as systems for other military vehicles and aircraft.

Activists have said that the Bristol complex is a research and development facility for the company. Elbit denied closing the plant due to protests when contacted by Haaretz, saying the “site is temporarily inactive for commercial reasons.”

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese named Elbit as a major company making up the “economic backbone” of Israel, which she said is dependent on the military industrial complex.

Elbit has been subject to protests in its branches across the world. Law enforcement in the U.K. have arrested dozens of activists with Palestine Action for protesting Elbit. Anti-Elbit protesters in the U.S. and Germany have also faced arrest.

The U.K. declared Palestine Action a terrorist group in July, in a move widely decried as an attempt to silence and criminalize pro-Palestine activism. This weekend, law enforcement arrested nearly a thousand people at a rally against Palestine Action’s proscription in London.

The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense faced criticism recently for reportedly nearing a contract with Elbit Systems UK worth £2 billion, or roughly $2.7 billion, for the company to be a “strategic partner.” This is despite the Labour government announcing last year that it was suspending 30 arms export licenses to Israel over the “clear risk” that the weapons would be used in violations of international law in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.