Sheffield protesters just shut down arms factory linked to Gaza genocide for hours

Sheffield group Stop Arming Israel shut down the Sheffield-based factory of arms manufacturer Forged Solutions for hours today:

Sheffield arms factory: shut down

Protesters suspect the Sheffield arms factory is complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Early on 8 October, Stop Arming Israel blockaded the River Don Site for a second time, having successfully done so in August too. The group had previously blockaded the company’s Meadowhall factory back in July on two occasions.

There was reportedly a heavy police presence, but protesters managed to stop numerous cars and lorries from entering in the morning:

A larger protest followed at 11am outside the Meadowhall site.

According to a press release from the group, “Forged Solutions is listed on the Open General Export Licence for the F-35″ fighter jet that Israel has used to decimate Gaza. The company denies making F-35 parts in Sheffield.

Other protests targeting the F-35 supply chain took place in Rochester, Havant, Cheltenham, and Brough.

If politicians keep choosing not to act, ordinary people will keep coming back

A Stop Arming Israel spokesperson said the group:

aims not only to target complicity but also direct participation in the genocide in Palestine. Forged Solutions has a long history of supplying parts to companies like Pratt and Whitney and Safran Aero Booster which go on to make engines for fighter jets like the F-35, F-16 and F-15. All of these planes are used by the occupation in its genocide of the Palestinians meaning that Forged Solutions is a participant in the genocide.

A protester, meanwhile, explained that:

As Sheffield residents, we are left with no choice but to take matters into our own hands and blockade the Forged Solutions factories once more. We have lobbied the council and the mayoral authority countless times about the city’s complicity in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. We are two years into this genocide; campaigning is not enough. The most effective action we can take is to directly halt the activities of these factories – as we have successfully done on multiple occasions – and disrupt the supply chain of weapons being exported to Israel.

Another added:

We will be back!

Featured image and additional images supplied