Latest news with #PalestineAction
Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Times
Palestine Action group shows no signs of slowing down
'We are tired of being ignored. It is up to all of us to stop this complicity' were the words that launched Palestine Action almost five years ago. Founded by Huda Ammori, who has Palestinian and Iraqi heritage, and Richard Barnard, a veteran left-wing activist, the fledgling group said direct action should be taken against Elbit Systems, a weapons manufacturer that they claim 'profits from Israel's war crimes'. Two months later, in September 2020, they did just that. Activists occupied a factory in Shenstone, in Staffordshire, smashing windows, drilling holes into ceilings, throwing air conditioning units to the ground and dousing the building in red paint. The demonstration marked the start of co-ordinated attempts to damage both the defence firm facilities and finances across the country, which have propelled the group on a path towards proscription. Throughout 2021 Palestine Action widened its activities, occupying a drone factory in Leicester. The occupation lasted six days, and ten arrests were made for conspiracy to commit criminal damage and aggravated trespass. The defendants were cleared after the trial judge instructed the jury to consider the common law defence of Necessity. After launching their Scottish branch, they targeted Thales, another defence firm. Having infiltrated its Glasgow facility in 2022, the activists allegedly caused more than £1 million of damage. Five were jailed after members of the group threw a smoke bomb into an area where staff were being evacuated. Protesters in red suits and balaclavas also caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage to an electronics plant in Wales that year, which they believed was making circuit boards for Israeli drones. The group's activities ramped up after the October 7, 2023 attacks. As Israeli forces announced a 'full siege' on Gaza, Palestine Action published a list of over 50 targets 'complicit in Elbit's murderous arms trade'. A few days later they sprayed the headquarters of the BBC — which wasn't on the list — with red paint to 'symbolise complicity in genocide'. Protestors also blockaded Lockheed Martin in Bedford, smeared red paint over the Foreign Office and targeted the headquarters of aerospace firm Leonardo, at which two men were arrested for what the Met called racially aggravated criminal damage. Their actions began to go beyond scaling roof tops and breaking factory windows. Members of the campaign group allegedly used a modified prison van to ram the entrance of Elbit's Bristol HQ last summer. Once inside they dismantled weapons, allegedly caused £1 million in damage and assaulted two officers were with a sledgehammer, police said. Eighteen people were charged and held on remand over the break-in. Less than a month after members of Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers painting, two Palestine Action members squirted tomato ketchup at a statue of former prime minister Arthur Balfour. The former foreign secretary has been a focus of activist anger as he was the signatory of the Balfour Declaration, a 1917 document that pledged support for the establishment of a 'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine. In March 2024, the group used blades to slash a painting of Lord Balfour hanging in the University of Cambridge. Seven months later — to mark the declaration's anniversary — they reportedly stole two busts of Israel's first president from the University of Manchester's chemistry building. As Palestine Action grew in notoriety and numbers, the British state also became a target. Early in 2024, six members were arrested for allegedly plotting to prevent the London Stock Exchange from opening. Activists have inevitably attracted the attention of authorities and received jail time. Among the first to be hauled before the courts were five members in November 2022, who had covered Elbit's Kingsway offices in their, now signature, red paint. They were, however, acquitted by a jury of 'conspiracy to commit criminal damage' and the offices later closed. Palestine Action declared a victory for this and for the closure of an Elbit factory in Oldham, where their sustained protests had resulted in 36 arrests. In August 2024, five members of the group were handed custodial sentences for protest action. It took two years for the courts to hand out suspended prison sentences and order the protesters to pay more than £5,000 in compensation after seven activists broke into the Bristol headquarters of Elbit to destroy equipment. Zoë Rogers turned 21 in prison. She had been charged with criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary in relation to the Bristol incident after telling her mother, Clare, that the pro-Palestine marches 'weren't working'. She was denied bail and is on remand with a trial set for November 2025. Fatema Zainab was arrested and charged as part of the same operation. As the court system caught up in December 2023, two members of a group known as the Elbit Eight, Genevieve Scherer and Jocelyn Cooney, were acquitted on charges relatingfrom July 2020 to January 2021. Their defence had argued that they were justified in 'working to disrupt manufacture of Israel's weaponry'. Richard Barnard was convicted of one count of criminal damage at the now-closed Elbit factory in Oldham.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Watch: Pro-Palestinian activists damage planes at UK military base
Pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in central England, damaging and spraying red paint over two planes used for refuelling and transport. Palestine Action said two members had entered the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire on Friday (local time), putting paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars. "Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets," the group said in a statement, posting a video of the incident on X. "Britain isn't just complicit, it's an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East." UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the "vandalism" as "disgraceful" in a post on X. The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful. Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us. Anti-terrorism police officers took over the investigation and British media reported that Britain's interior minister, Yvette Cooper, planned to use anti-terrorism laws to ban Palestine Action as an organisation. A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on the reports. A spokesperson for Starmer said the government was reviewing security across all British defence sites. Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza. The group said it had also sprayed paint on the runway and left a Palestine flag there. The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas-led Palestinian militants attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies. US ally Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, displaced almost all the territory's residents and caused a severe hunger crisis. The assault has led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies. - Reuters
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Pro-Palestinian activists break into UK's biggest air base in startling security breach
Advertisement In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident 'disgraceful,' saying: 'Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.' Palestine Action has carried out a series of acts of vandalism at high-profile and supposedly secure locations, including defense manufacturers. Thames Valley Police, the force responsible for the area, said in a statement that officers were working with the Ministry of Defense and the RAF to investigate. Inquiries 'are ongoing to locate and arrest those responsible,' the force noted. In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said, 'We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets. We are working closely with the police who are investigating.' Advertisement The ministry did not immediately respond to a question on whether it would open a review of security at the site. Grant Shapps, a former British defense secretary, wrote on social media that there needed to be a 'full security review.' 'Storming an RAF base isn't protest — it's a national security breach,' he wrote. 'The blame lies squarely with these reckless activists, but ministers must now explain how on earth it was allowed to happen.' In its statement Friday, Palestine Action claimed the targeted planes 'can carry military cargo and are used to refuel' military aircraft, including fighter jets, from the British and Israeli militaries. But Greg Bagwell, a former senior RAF commander and a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the planes damaged by the group were incompatible with Israeli fighter aircraft and could not be used to refuel them. 'They couldn't have gotten a more wrong aircraft,' he said in an interview. 'They have targeted aircraft that are not the aircraft they think they are.' The Israeli air force flies American-built fighter planes such as the F-15, the F-16, and the F-35A, Bagwell said, all of which can only be fueled with a boom-style method that is not used by the planes that were damaged Friday. Palestine Action has previously conducted vandalism and protests at sites in Britain that are operated by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and at companies with links to that firm, and also at other defense companies. Several activists have been prosecuted over the protests, including five people who were imprisoned last year for causing about $1.3 million of damage to a weapons equipment factory in Glasgow, Scotland, in June 2022. Advertisement Britain's largest RAF base, Brize Norton houses about 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff members, and 1,200 contractors. Bagwell said he believed many military bases around the world were vulnerable to the kind of intrusion the group made Friday. 'Airfields are large pieces of real estate that have miles of fence line,' he said. 'It's not an easy piece of territory to protect everywhere. Anybody with a wire cutter or ladders could be able to get in.' Adding more human protection or electronic monitoring along every part of a major military base like Brize Norton would be very expensive. But Bagwell said officials needed to take the risk seriously. He said the breach showed that it would not have been difficult for terrorists or agents of a foreign government to have done something more sinister at the base. 'It was exactly the sort of activity that the likes of Russia and Iran would like to promote,' he said. 'This time it was a protester, but next time it could be someone who was doing something on behalf of others.' This article originally appeared in
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Terror cops probe RAF security bungle after pro-Palestine fanatics break into Britain's biggest air base
TERROR cops were last night probing a security shambles after pro-Palestine fanatics on scooters broke into Britain's biggest air base. The thugs Advertisement 7 Red paint can be seen on and around the Airbus Voyager at RAF Brize Norton Credit: ITV News 7 A Palestine Action fanatic rides towards the plane on an electric scooter after evading security at the base Credit: x 7 The vandals' paint kit hangs from the scooter's handlebars Credit: x PM Keir Starmer called the attack 'disgraceful'. The group, Palestine Action will be outlawed as a terrorist organisation after the brazen paint stunt at Britain's biggest air base. The Government was last night under huge pressure following the security shambles at the high-security base. Home Secretary Advertisement READ MORE RAF NEWS Two fanatics on electric scooters were thought to have cut a section of the base's eight-mile perimeter fence in rural Oxfordshire, early yesterday. Palestine Action They then used converted fire extinguishers to spray paint on to the turbines and fuselages of the planes in a bid to ruin the engines. The fanatics fled and were being hunted by counter-terror cops. Advertisement Most read in The Sun PM The group also targeted commercial sites in Manchester and Chelmsford, Essex, yesterday which they claimed had links to Israel. Security alert as man seen climbing up Big Ben sparking huge emergency response Checks were under way on the aircraft, which cost £750million over their lifetime. Sources said damage to the engines could run into 'seven figures'. The RAF does not expect the incident to affect wider operations. Advertisement transport and refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. 7 Paint can be seen daubed on the engine and fuselage at dawn Credit: Sky News 7 The group claims to have sprayed paint into the engine - and putting the jet out of action Credit: Sky News Palestine Action said: 'By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against Palestinians.' Advertisement But a defence source said the group was 'confused and misguided' in its mission. The source said: 'These planes were for air transport and air-to-air refuelling. Trying to link the Voyager fleet to Gaza is ridiculous.' An MoD spokesman confirmed that Voyager aircraft had not been involved in refuelling or supporting Israeli Air Force jets. They have been used to refuel RAF Typhoons fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Advertisement Retired Col Richard Kemp said: 'Brize was attacked not by external forces but the enemy within. It was a deliberate act of sabotage.' Lord West, the former head of the Royal Navy, described the breach as 'shocking'. He added: 'Bearing in mind the very real risks of attacks from terrorists and Russian proxy state actors, it's unbelievable that such lax protection should be afforded to vital equipment and, in the final analysis, our people.' Tory leader Advertisement She said: 'This is not lawful protest, it's politically-motivated criminality.' A defence source said it was impossible to patrol the base '24/7, 365'. They said: 'We do have fences, cameras and barbed wire but to patrol with dogs all the time costs a huge amount of manpower and some of it comes back on spending to the Armed Forces.' 7 Terror cops are probing the security shambles that allowed pro-Palestine fanatics on scooters to break into Britain's biggest air base Credit: NC Advertisement 7 PM Keir Starmer called the attack 'disgraceful' Credit: EPA After the stunt, Defence Secretary investigation and a review of wider security at our bases. Palestine Action has previously focused attention on Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems Ltd. In March the group claimed to have shut down its Bristol HQ using a cherry picker. Four people were charged over damage caused. Advertisement Hunt for missiles as Israel blitzed By Nick Parker, in Tel Aviv ISRAELI fighter-bombers were racing against time to smash Iranian missile launchers last night as ballistic rockets rained down on the Jewish state. It came as a mushroom cloud hung over Israel's northern port city of Haifa where a blast left 17 people injured, three seriously, yesterday afternoon. Shrapnel tore into a 16-year-old boy's upper body, and two other victims, aged 54 and 40, had blast wounds to their legs. An overnight lull in the attacks — in which just one Iranian rocket penetrated Israel's Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow missile shields — ended with a rare nationwide alert. Sirens sounded from Galilee in the north, Tel Aviv in the west, the capital Jerusalem, and the southern city of Beersheba where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Huge blasts were heard as interceptors streaked into the sky and explosions were reported across the nation as about 25 missiles homed in. The worst damage was reported in Haifa as Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei crowed that Israel was getting its 'comeuppance'. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said last night that Haifa's Al-Jarina mosque 'was struck by an Iranian missile, injuring Muslim clerics and worshippers'. And the IDF said an Iranian missile which hit Beersheba was fitted with a cluster bomb warhead. These weapons — banned by 112 nations — explode above ground, scattering bomblets to cause maximum damage and casualties. Israeli warplanes were yesterday mounting constant missions to knock out Iran's 300 rocket launchers. Officials claimed two thirds of them had been hit.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Terror cops probe RAF security bungle after pro-Palestine fanatics break into Britain's biggest air base
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TERROR cops were last night probing a security shambles after pro-Palestine fanatics on scooters broke into Britain's biggest air base. The thugs hurled red paint into two planes' engines after cutting fencing at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Red paint can be seen on and around the Airbus Voyager at RAF Brize Norton Credit: ITV News 7 A Palestine Action fanatic rides towards the plane on an electric scooter after evading security at the base Credit: x 7 The vandals' paint kit hangs from the scooter's handlebars Credit: x PM Keir Starmer called the attack 'disgraceful'. The group, Palestine Action will be outlawed as a terrorist organisation after the brazen paint stunt at Britain's biggest air base. The Government was last night under huge pressure following the security shambles at the high-security base. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper responded by saying she will put forward legislation on Monday to make being a member of the group illegal. READ MORE RAF NEWS PLANE MAD Palestine activists attack plane on RAF base in 'grotesque security breach' Two fanatics on electric scooters were thought to have cut a section of the base's eight-mile perimeter fence in rural Oxfordshire, early yesterday. Palestine Action posted a 34-second video of the pair riding up to two Airbus Voyagers in the dark. They then used converted fire extinguishers to spray paint on to the turbines and fuselages of the planes in a bid to ruin the engines. The fanatics fled and were being hunted by counter-terror cops. PM Sir Keir Starmer condemned the action as 'disgraceful' and 'an act of vandalism'. The group also targeted commercial sites in Manchester and Chelmsford, Essex, yesterday which they claimed had links to Israel. Security alert as man seen climbing up Big Ben sparking huge emergency response Checks were under way on the aircraft, which cost £750million over their lifetime. Sources said damage to the engines could run into 'seven figures'. The RAF does not expect the incident to affect wider operations. Brize Norton — home to 6,000 military staff, 300 civilian workers and 1,200 contractors — is the hub for UK strategic air transport and refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. 7 Paint can be seen daubed on the engine and fuselage at dawn Credit: Sky News 7 The group claims to have sprayed paint into the engine - and putting the jet out of action Credit: Sky News Palestine Action said: 'By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against Palestinians.' But a defence source said the group was 'confused and misguided' in its mission. The source said: 'These planes were for air transport and air-to-air refuelling. Trying to link the Voyager fleet to Gaza is ridiculous.' An MoD spokesman confirmed that Voyager aircraft had not been involved in refuelling or supporting Israeli Air Force jets. They have been used to refuel RAF Typhoons fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Retired Col Richard Kemp said: 'Brize was attacked not by external forces but the enemy within. It was a deliberate act of sabotage.' Lord West, the former head of the Royal Navy, described the breach as 'shocking'. He added: 'Bearing in mind the very real risks of attacks from terrorists and Russian proxy state actors, it's unbelievable that such lax protection should be afforded to vital equipment and, in the final analysis, our people.' Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called it 'deeply concerning'. She said: 'This is not lawful protest, it's politically-motivated criminality.' A defence source said it was impossible to patrol the base '24/7, 365'. They said: 'We do have fences, cameras and barbed wire but to patrol with dogs all the time costs a huge amount of manpower and some of it comes back on spending to the Armed Forces.' 7 Terror cops are probing the security shambles that allowed pro-Palestine fanatics on scooters to break into Britain's biggest air base Credit: NC 7 PM Keir Starmer called the attack 'disgraceful' Credit: EPA After the stunt, Defence Secretary John Healey said he had ordered an investigation and a review of wider security at our bases. Counter-terror police were investigating along with Thames Valley Police and the MoD. Palestine Action has previously focused attention on Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems Ltd. In March the group claimed to have shut down its Bristol HQ using a cherry picker. Four people were charged over damage caused.
