Palestine Action: We Bypass Politicians, Go Straight to Aggressors
LONDON (Dispatches) – A
co-founder of the UK-based direct-action network Palestine Action, has outlined the group’s uncompromising strategy to disrupt the Zionist regime’s military supply chain by targeting British arms manufacturers complicit in Tel Aviv’s atrocities.
“We bypass politicians and go straight to the aggressors,” Huda Ammori stated in an interview published in Sidecar, a blog run by the New Left Review, a British bimonthly journal.
The remarks emphasized the group’s focus on direct action rather than lobbying towards targeting the Zionist regime’s occupation of Palestine and deadly aggression towards Palestinians.
Since its inception in July 2020, Palestine Action has concentrated on dismantling the operations of Elbit Systems, the regime’s largest weapons firm, which maintains several facilities across the UK.
The group’s tactics include occupying rooftops, obstructing supply chains, and, in some cases, damaging equipment.
Ammori highlighted that these actions aimed to “slow the pace of the violence and make it harder for Israel to carry out its aims.”
Palestine Action’s sustained campaign has led to significant disruptions for Elbit Systems.
Notably, the group’s actions have been linked to the permanent closure of Elbit’s factory in Tamworth, Staffordshire, in March 2024.
Additionally, activists caused substantial damage to Elbit’s subsidiary, Instro Precision, in Kent, reportedly resulting in over £1 ($1.3) million in damages and halting production temporarily.
These disruptions have had financial repercussions. In November 2024, the UK ministry of defense terminated its £2.1-($2.3)-billion Watchkeeper drone contract with Elbit’s subsidiary, UAV Tactical Systems, marking the company’s largest-ever contract loss in Britain.
Ammori expressed skepticism about conventional protest methods, describing them as “state-sanctioned” and ineffective. She argued that mass demonstrations, while drawing large crowds, often fail to translate into meaningful action.
“If 100,000 people attended a march, it would only take 1% of them to shut down most Israeli weapons factories across the country,” she noted.
The UK government’s response to Palestine Action’s activities has been increasingly stringent. Activists have faced arrests, with some charged under “terrorism” laws.
Despite this, Ammori remained resolute, stating that heightened repression often galvanized more individuals to join the movement.
Palestine Action’s decentralized structure, operating in small, security-conscious groups, has made it challenging for authorities to dismantle the network entirely. This approach is believed to ensure the continuity of their operations even under intense scrutiny.