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Palestine Action Protest clears of all charges

Palestine Action Activists Found NOT GUILTY After Defacing Israeli Arms Company

Three Palestine Action activists, dubbed the ‘Elbit Three’, have today been found not guilty of criminal damage charges in a trial taking place at Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates Court. The trial, which commenced on Friday 3rd December, saw Elbit Systems and the Crown Prosecution Service attempt to criminalise individuals who took a stand against the manufacture of drones and drone parts. The products manufactured at the site of the protest, the UAV Engines factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire, are key components for a range of Elbit’s combat drones, used extensively by Israel for bombardments of Gazan civilians.

Elbit Systems are Israel’s largest private arms company, supplying 85% of Israel’s drone fleet. Their Hermes drones, manufactured with UK-made components, are regularly deployed in bombardments of Gaza, with Elbit also supplying a range of surveillance equipment, armaments, and specialist military technologies for the Israeli military and police. Palestine Action have undertaken a campaign of sustained direct action against Elbit Systems – across their 10 sites in the UK – with this action in Shenstone having occured in January 2021, six months since Palestine Action launched. Despite many dozens of actions taken, and over £15,000,000 in damages caused (according to police), this is the first time that activists had faced trial, with all previous charges having been dropped in the run-up to trial dates.

The presiding judge, Judge Waites, stated that the Crown had failed to prove that convicting the defendents would be proportionate with their freedom to protest. He stated further points which included: Palestine is an important issue, the arms trade is an important issue, the defendants believed in what they were doing, and the location was specifically chosen. These are the points that Palestine Action has long stated: through targetted and deliberate direct action, individuals can make a measured impact on the lives of civilians in Palestine by disrupting and undermining Israel’s arms trade.

For more information, please read our full press release below and share this victory widely!

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Parliamentary debate -Introduce sanctions against Israel

The motion that the Government should introduce sanctions against Israel, including blocking all trade, and in particular arms will be debated in the parliament on the 14th June 2021. West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign has organised an online meeting with members of parliament from Birmingham and surrounding constituencies to come and discuss the situation Palestinians are facing in their own homeland and why sanctions are necessary to help alleviate the hardships Palestinians find themselves in their own homes.

West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Meet your MP pre commons debate on Sanctions against Israel
Time: Jun 10, 2021 06:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting by following the link below
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89596641124?pwd=WUZJUkQvSXh1aUFyQXlxQ0F4TnZvUT09

Or the Meeting ID: 895 9664 1124
Passcode: 376094

Following is a copy of a letter you can copy and modify to send it to your member of parliament before the debate.

Dear

I am writing to you as a constituent to invite you to an online meeting that has been organized with all the members of Parliament representing Birmingham and surrounding constituencies. The meeting would want to discuss with their members of parliament their concerns over the enduring occupation and oppression of Palestinians and the scheduled debate in the Houses of Parliament to discuss sanctions that can be applied on Israel to force it to abide by international and Humanitarian laws that Israel is able to ignore with impunity so far. The Birmingham meeting is scheduled for 6pm the 10th of June 2021 before the parliamentary debate that is to follow on the 14th of June 2021.

You can visit the website www.westmidspsc.org for more information on the debate and Israel’s violation of international Humanitarian law.

Since its establishment, Israeli state violence towards the indigenous Palestinian population has never ceased. This includes a combination of warfare, territorial theft, and violent displacement of Palestinians who had been settled in these lands for centuries. The various UN resolutions attesting to the illegality of Israeli actions and the recent reports by Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem have documented this reality. Many of these violations amount to war crimes. While several countries are faced with immediate censure, Israel continues to enjoy full impunity for its actions. The latest in these atrocities include the attacks on the Al-Aqsa worshippers during Ramadan, the attempted illegal evictions of Palestinian residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, and the subsequent disproportionate and indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

In the latest attack on Gaza in May 2021, over 256 Palestinians including 66 children were killed. The Israeli government spokesman admitted that the recently supplied F35 fighter planes were used in the latest attack. British contribution towards the 50 F-35s would amount to £ 585 million. This and other arms supplies to Israel means Britain is very much complicit in the lethal attacks Israel launches on civilians living under an unwarranted siege of Gaza.

Given the role Britain played in creating the problem it bears a moral responsibility to engage in actions to bring about justice for the Palestinian people.

I therefore urge you to take concrete steps against Israel’s systematic violations of human rights and war crimes committed against the Palestinians by imposing full-scale sanctions against Israel which should include:

1. Boycotting the Israeli regime on political, military, economic and cultural fronts.

2. Ending the arms trade with Israel.

3. Supporting the trial of Israeli officials responsible for war crimes in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a similar way war criminals of former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were brought to justice.

It has become more apparent than ever that Israel is an apartheid state and will not willingly change itself. Outside measures are the only way that can meaningfully push Israel towards ending the aggression and respect Palestinian human rights.

I am hoping our members of parliament use the sanctions available to them to ensure Israel abides by International law. Also, I am hoping as a constituent you will be able to join us on the 10th June to discuss our concerns and how you hope to address them on the commons debate on sanctions.

I await your reply.

These are some of the Birmingham and surrounding constituency members of parliament you can write to. Please choose an mp who is your constituent as they are more likely to respond.

shabana.mahmood.mp@parliament.uk

andrew.mitchell.mp@parliament.uk

gary.sambrook.mp@parliament.uk

jack.dromey.mp@parliament.uk

preet.gill.mp@parliament.uk

jess.phillips.mp@parliament.uk

mccabes@parliament.uk

byrnel@parliament.uk

mahmoodk@parliament.uk

If you hear from them please let us know by emailing the response to admin@westmidspsc.org or put it on our facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wmpsc

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Palestine National Day of Action

National Day of Action for Palestine #EndApartheid #SanctionsNow

Saturday, 28 November 2020 from 09:00 UTC-20:00 UTC

The Israeli government continues to press ahead with its gross violations of international law and Palestinian human rights, accelerating the ongoing colonisation of yet more Palestinian land.

These include plans to proceed with formal annexation. Despite the rhetoric from some of our political leaders that the US- UAE has taken annexation off the table, Israel has made clear that its plans are merely on temporary hold .

Netanyahu, has stated clearly , speaking after the UAE deal that “There is no change to my plan to extend sovereignty, our sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, in full coordination with the United States.”Meanwhile Israel proceeds with the de facto annexation on the ground. In October 2020 the Israeli government approved 5,400 new settlement units on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank.In tandem, Israel has continued to demolish Palestinian homes and buildings, with 389 Palestinian structures in the West Bank razed from March to August 2020, leaving over 400 Palestinians homelessIsrael continues to subject Gaza to an ever-tightening land, air and sea blockade, making life insufferable for the nearly two million Palestinians, the majority of them refugees from Israel’s ethnic cleansing, trapped in the enclave. Like Palestinian refugees everywhere, they are denied the right to return to the homes from which they, their parents or grandparents were expelled.As the TUC the reality recently affirmed, Israel’s current actions are the next “significant step in the creation of a system of apartheid” .The UK government must take action by banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and implementing sanctions, including a two-way arms embargo, until Israel complies with international law.Public bodies also need to take action to ensure that they are not investing funds or procuring contracts with companies complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses.
That’s why we’re calling for a day of action on November 28th under the banner #StopAnnexation #EndApartheid #SanctionsNowHow to take action:
1. Print and and hold our signs (complying with all social distancing and lockdown restrictions). You can use ours (check the comments, or get creative and make your own).

2. Post on social media with the hashtags #StopAnnexation#EndApartheid#SanctionsNowLet’s once more flood social media with our protest!

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Stop Arming Israel Saturday 22nd August 1pm-2pm

http://www.facebook.com/groups/wmpsc/?ref=bookmarks
https://www.thebigride4palestine.com

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HSBC Stop Arming Israel National Day of Action Saturday 12th Sept 1 pm to 3 pm

WMPSC is supporting the national day of action and has called for a protest outside the New Street Branch, 130 New St, Birmingham B2 4JU of HSBC in Birmingham City Centre. Protesters will be there from 1 pm to 2:30 pm. HSBC invests in and provides financial services for companies providing military technology and weapons to Israel, which the Israeli military has used to commit war crimes and systematically violate international law. This includes investments of nearly £100 million in the company Caterpillar.

 

Caterpillar supplies the Israeli military with bulldozers which are weaponised and used to assist in Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, including the demolition of Palestinian homes, schools, villages and civilian infrastructure – in order to make way for the ever-expanding illegal Israeli Jewish-only settlements.

Since 1967 the Israeli military has demolished nearly 50,000 Palestinian houses, and Caterpillar equipment has been involved at many of these demolitions, which amount to war crimes. Currently Caterpillar Bulldozers are being used by the Israeli military to aid in the demolition of 70 Palestinian homes in the Sur Baher village in East Jerusalem. Over 1000 Palestinians are being displaced from their homes, forcing them to live in exile

Caterpillar also provides equipment used to reinforce Israel’s apartheid infrastructure, including Israel’s checkpoints, seperation wall alongside the West Bank as well as the wall in Gaza, and for the construction of illegal settlements and settlement infrastructure on stolen Palestinian land.

Public pressure led HSBC to divest from Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company, but HSBC remains deeply complicit with Israel’s war crimes.

Mobilise and take creative action at your local HSBC branch, join in with local actions, spread the word on social media and call on HSBC to #StopArmingIsrael!

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Stop Arming Israel Week of Action

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UK STOP Arming Israel from Arms to Renewables Monday 19th December 2016 10:30 am

We call for a two way arms embargo with israel and a shift from weapons production to socially useful production,

A rally is planned for Monday the 19th December

The rally will be a creative, non-violent  outside the factory gates to demand the Elbit’s factory’ demanding its closure. The rally will be starting at
10 30 am
Map of the factory: https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/mapping/address/5164

Welfare not warfare. The campaign is highlighting the waste of Government money on the arms trade, instead of opposing austerity and spending the money on vital local services, NHS, apprenticeships etc.
The protection of local jobs by supporting an ‘Arms to Renewables’ policy. The arms industry currently receives a huge public subsidy- but reallocating resources to renewables could create more and better jobs. You can read more about the Arms to Renewables campaign on the CAAT website.

It is time to let the israeli war machine know we are like stars and we will not disapear that the fight for justice is everlasting.On 19 dec 2016 groups and campaigners from across the UK are going to protest at Elbit’s factories across the uk to demand that the UK stops arming Israel and that the factory close. Elbit Systems manufacture UAVs (drones) that are used by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.

The assault on Gaza of 2014 which killed over 2,200 Palestinians, was one of the most brutal examples of Israel’s ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Palestinians, including 551 children, were massacred in a duck shoot by the Israelis, who launched high ordinance missiles into Gaza’s residential areas, schools, hospitals and refugee camps, the most overcrowded area in the world, At the time, activists occupied Elbit’s factory in Shenstone, halting its operations and costing Elbit over £100,000.

Birmingham Palestine Action are leading the action at the shenstone site. Email palaction1@gmail.com to contact. Twitter: @brumpalestine

Our action will be a creative, non-violent picket and rally outside the factory gates to demand the factory’s closure. We will be starting at
10 30 am
Map of the factory: https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/mapping/address/5164

TRANSPORT:

Shenstone is a small village outside Birmingham, accessible by National Rail trains. The Elbit factory, UAV ENGINES, is five minutes walk from Shenstone railway station which is on the Longbridge Lichfield cross city line.Trains are every 15 minutes from New Street station.

If you are coming from a big city where there is an active Palestine Solidarity movement it might make more sense to book a mini-bus or coach instead – please coordinate with us via our email (above).

PLEASE BRING:

Banners!
Pots, pans, air horns, megaphones, any noise-making devices.
Red, green, black and white ribbons to tie on the fence and kites, http://www.flykitesnotdrones.org/

ACCESSIBILITY:

We want to make the day as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you have access needs or will be coming with children and would like to discuss practical arrangements, please get in in touch via email (above).

For more information on Elbit etc.:

https://corporatewatch.org/company-profiles/elbit

http://wire.novaramedia.com/2015/07/stoparmingisrael-6-reasons-to-block-the-factory/

www.caat.org.uk/resources/countries/israel

www.uavenginesltd.co.uk

https://www.stoparmingisrael.org/

Birmingham Palestine Action
Community
A network of people in Birmingham taking (direct) action against Israeli apartheid through BDS & other participative Palestine solidarity work.

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Welcome to West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign website

West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign is dedicated t o campaign for Palestinian rights in Palestine and end to the occupation.

We support the Palestinian Civil Society’s call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions. Our action in the West Midlands is dedicated to ensuring an effective boycott of all goods associated with the occupation. We encourage companies and public bodies not to invest in companies that benefit from the occupation and we campaign for government and other public bodies to apply sanctions against the occupying power while it continues to violate international law and while it continues to violate human rights for the Palestinians by refusing them the right to return.