Activists occupy UK-based factory of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit

Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit is known for producing drones, weapons, and intelligence systems for clients, including the Israeli army.

What is less widely known is that it has subsidiaries operating in the UK - a fact activists are trying to shine a light on.

On Monday, pro-Palestinian campaigners scaled the roof of a factory belonging to a subsidiary, Elbit Ferranti, in the northern English town of Oldham, a suburb of Manchester, hanging banners to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 2014 war in Gaza.

The conflict left more than 2,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 70 Israelis, mostly soldiers, dead. Drones manufactured by Elbit were extensively used by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war.

The company describes the drones it manufactures as the ‘backbone’ of Israel’s drone fleet and markets them as ‘combat proven’ - a reference to their use in the 2014 war.

One of the activists participating in the action on Monday was Adie Mormech, who worked as an English teacher in Gaza for two years, witnessing the 2012 conflict, which killed two of his students.

“We think that arms companies like Elbit Ferranti should stop operating when it is clear their weapons are being developed through the mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza and the rest of Palestine,” he said.

“We're trying to keep this factory shut so they can't make things which kill innocent civilians,” Mormech, of the activist group Manchester Action Palestine, added.

The action by the activists in Oldham is the latest in a long-running battle with the arms manufacturer.

In December, campaigners declared victory when HSBC decided to divest its investment in Elbit.

In 2017, Palestinian activists were charged and later acquitted after a protest at an Elbit subsidiary’s factory in the West Midlands region.