October 28, 2023
October 26, Kent England
Around 150 protesters, including health care workers, teachers and academics from various British trade unions, on Thursday blocked the two entrances to the Instro Precision Ltd factory, a subsidiary of Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, located in Sandwich, in Kent, in the southeast of the United Kingdom.
Instro specializes in military-grade electro-optical equipment used for target location, surveillance and reconnaissance.
According to trade unionists and activists participating in the protest, all products from this factory are exported and used by Israeli forces against the oppressed people of the Gaza Strip.
October 12, Cambridge Massachusetts, foto: Bill Hackwell
The outraged British protesters held placards reading “Workers for a free Palestine” and “UK: stop arming Israel”, calling for an end to all forms of complicity with Israel’s crimes.
The protest was organized in response to an open letter published by Workers for Palestine, urging unions internationally to stop Israeli war crimes and stop the arms trade with Israel.
The UK is a major arms supplier to Israel, providing components that make up 15% of every F35 fighter jet currently used in Israel’s bombing raids, according to the Campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT).
On October 12 a similar action took place at the offices of Elbit Systems in the US where protestors locked themselves to the doors of the building preventing anyone from entering.
Source: Hispan translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English