Real Media's video: Elbit arms company HQ stormed in a second bold direct action

A week after visiting Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, the new protest network Palestine Action carried out a second raid, storming their central London HQ and leaving a lot of painted messages for their staff and others in the shared building. The action involved around half a dozen protesters, along with a passer-by who apparently saw it was Palestine-related and joined in! Several decorated the lobby while chanting and unfurling a huge ‘Shut Elbit Down’ banner, while three ran up to the sixth floor and painted slogans outside Elbit’s main office there. The whole event lasted nearly ten minutes and then everyone left peacefully. It is not clear whether the security person called police, but it doesn’t appear that they attended, and activists have not so far been questioned over the previous week’s action. The group believes that Elbit is worried that a court case would reveal complicity in war crimes, and it certainly seems there’s something preventing the company from pursuing legal recourse. Real Media filmed an action last year at their Kent Instro Precision factory, where police watched activists paint-spraying doors and windows, but told them they would not be arrested. Elbit make the majority of drones used by the Israeli military in Gaza, and an Amnesty report found that during the 2014 attack on Gaza, failure to protect civilians constituted war crimes. The Palestine Action network have vowed to keep disrupting Elbit in escalating actions to drive them out of the UK. More info at PalestineAction.org