On 15 April, several residents and supporters of Palestine Action disrupted Lib-Dem led Somerset Council’s ‘Property and Investments Sub-Committee meeting’ for over 30 minutes, before the councillors closed the meeting to the public. It was over the council’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza – via Elbit Systems.
Palestine Action: Lib Dems must evict Elbit now
During the meeting, a local resident submitted a question demanding the immediate eviction of the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems from the council’s property Aztec West 600 in Bristol:
This was followed by locals handing out pictures of injured and killed Palestinian children during the ongoing Gaza genocide:
Residents also held a banner with the names of dozens of Palestinians who’ve been killed by the Israeli military using Elbit’s weaponry, whilst taking it in turns to disrupt the meeting to make their demands heard:
Over the past three months, residents have disrupted three council meetings in total over the council’s continued complicity in the Gaza genocide. Locals have also twice sprayed red paint across the council’s town hall – on one of such occasions, they also locked on to blockade any access to the premises.
Somerset Council are the landlords of Aztec West 600, the headquarters of Elbit Systems UK. Due to financial concerns, the council have made plans to sell Aztec West 600 as part of a wholesale move to dispose of their commercial investments.
However, residents have repeatedly demanded the council follow their legal and moral obligations to immediately evict Elbit from the property before disposing of the site.
Elbit: propping up Israel’s genocide in Gaza
Elbit Systems is Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, who supply 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land-based equipment in addition to missiles, bombs and bullets. As part of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Elbit “ramped up production” for the Israeli military who use the company’s services “extensively”.
Since 7 October, the Israeli military has killed over 33,207 Palestinians have been killed (40% of whom are children), 75,933 injured, and the majority of Gaza has been displaced.
The council have said they will meet with Elbit Systems UK to discover what is happening at Aztec West 600 before taking any further moves to evict the company. During a court case, Alan Wright, VP of Sales at Elbit Systems UK, revealed that the premises is used for “systems integration” of weaponry for their customers.
Despite Elbit Systems UK being wholly owned by Elbit Systems Israel, the company often attempt to disassociate themselves from their parent company and global brand.
However, during Elbit’s annual investor conference 2024 in Israel, Elbit Systems CEO Bezhalel Machlis stated that all Elbit companies in the UK are a significant part of the Israeli weapons firm who frequently work with their counterparts in Israel and share technology.
In the same conference, a video was displayed of Elbit workers saying they feel like ‘civil soldiers’ and regularly engage in ongoing debriefs with the Israeli military during the use of their weapons in Gaza.
Featured image and videos via Palestine Action
