Stop Arming Israel week of action targets HSBC and Elbit

At least 28 different actions took place across the UK from 1st to 7th July 2017 calling for an immediate two-way arms embargo against Israel. Activists closed down factories and two branches of HSBC bank, held public meetings, took action online and distributed 1000’s of information flyers.
Check out this round up put together by some of the activists involved:

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HSBC hit by protests at 20 branches over Israeli arms trade links

HSBC hit by protests at 20 branches over Israeli arms trade links

Protests forced HSBC branches in London and Brighton to close today and protests were held at a total of 20 branches over the bank’s links with arms companies that supply weapons used by Israel to oppress Palestinians. Continue reading “HSBC hit by protests at 20 branches over Israeli arms trade links”

Stop Arming Israel Week of Action 1st – 7th July 2017

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Arms companies around the world are profiting from Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine. Along with the banks that invest in them, these companies are on our doorsteps. We can take action to stop them; join us for a week of action from 1st to 7th July 2017, on the third anniversary of Israel’s 2014 attacks on the Gaza Strip.

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Theresa May is showing contempt for Palestinian rights as she rolls out the red carpet for Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu

The full version of this article was published by The Independent on 6 Feburary 2017.

Benjamin Netanyahu seated behind a desk

Rather than deepening the UK’s relationship with Israel’s human rights abusing government, it’s time Theresa May reminded herself of the UK’s obligations under international law, which if enforced, would block her Government from approving arms exports and other trade that lends material support to Israeli violations.

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Stop Arming Israel events December 2016: Oldham, Shenstone and Crawley

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Protesters in front of a factory hold up a banner saying "UK: Stop Arming Israel"

Campaigners calling for a two-way arms embargo on Israel will hold coordinated events at sites in the UK connected to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company:

Stop Arming Israel campaigners give Elbit a run for its money

“Battle-proven…in over 40,000 successful combat missions.” This boast appears in a promotional video for the Hermes 900 series drones. It’s a frequently repeated phrase used by the Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems to market its military products. Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s largest arms companies, showed this video at the Farnborough International arms fair in the midst of Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip in 2014.

Protesters linking arms and holding a placard saying "UK stop arming Israel"
Photo credit: War on Want/Rich Wiles 2015

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Arrest arms dealers, not peace campaigners

by Vyara Gylsen

A policeman drags a woman away from a military truck with graffiti on it
The author was arrested outside DSEI arms fair in September 2015 for writing with an erasable marker on a military vehicle’s window.

I was arrested in September 2015 for criminal damage to a military vehicle by writing on it “arms tested on children” with washable ink. It happened during demonstrations against the DSEI expo, one of the world’s largest arms fairs. I must have really hurt the tank’s feelings judging from the way the police rugby tackled me. It is as though I would damage it beyond repair and make it inactive in battle using my dry-wipe marker.

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Case against anti-drone protestors collapses

Case droppedAll charges against 19 anti-drone protesters have been dropped, after the Crown Prosecution Service admitted there was no realistic prospect of conviction.

The 19 were arrested for protesting at UAV Engines Ltd, in Shenstone, Staffordshire, on 6 July 2015, one year after Israel’s attacks on Gaza in 2014.

UAV Engines Ltd is wholly owned by Elbit Systems, an Israeli company manufacturing military drones used to attack Gaza.

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Stop Arming Israel action against the DSEI arms fair

Protesters hold a "Stop Arming Israel" banner in front of the ExCeL centreIn September, DSEI, one of the world’s biggest arms fairs, took place in London’s ExCeL centre. Israel’s three largest arms companies – Elbit, Israeli Aerospace Industries and Rafael – were present at DSEI 2015, and an Israeli national pavilion inside the fair hosted many smaller Israeli arms companies. In addition to Israeli arms companies, the country’s major arms suppliers were there: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and ThyssenKrupp among many others.

But DSEI was challenged with daily creative direct action, as activists held a week of action ahead of the fair to block equipment from entering the fair. Continue reading “Stop Arming Israel action against the DSEI arms fair”

New report details ‘carnage in Rafah’

A wrecked ambulance surrounded by debris and damaged buildingsAmnesty International’s new Black Friday report details evidence of horrendous war crimes committed by Israeli armed forces against Palestinian civilians during the summer 2014 assault on Gaza, and recommends that “all states should suspend the transfer to Israel of arms, munitions, weapons and military equipment”.

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