Palestine Action has once again targeted the offices of Allianz in Belfast – covering them in blood-red paint:
Allianz: complicit in genocide
Palestine Action last visited the Belfast site on 7 October, the anniversary of the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as part of a co-ordinated attack against 10 branches of the German company:
Allianz not only provide Employer’s Liability Insurance to Elbit Systems, but also have substantial investments in the firm.
It has previously been described as Elbit’s “principle institutional shareholder”, at-one-point owning over 2% of the company. The finance company continues to hold thousands of shares in Elbit Systems Ltd, while its subsidiary ‘Allianz Insurance Products Trust’ provides insurance services for Elbit Systems UK, including employment insurance.
Western capital has continued to profit from the mass murder of Palestinians. Allianz’ profit books, its returns on its investments, have been bolstered by the hundreds of military technologies which Elbit provides in service of genocide.
Elbit provides over 85% of Israel’s drones, including the quadcopters used to assassinate countless Palestinian men, women, and children, and has publicly advertised its weaponry as being “battle-tested” on Palestinians. Its business operations are central to Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and its technologies uphold the brutal occupation regime.
Palestine Action: the actions will continue
Palestine Action has tried writing to Allianz, to ask that they end their relationship with Elbit, which is a direct contradiction of their human rights policy, which supposedly commits the company to “supporting and respecting the protection of international human rights” and “ensuring that Allianz is not complicit in human rights abuses”.
The letter stated:
We ask that you do not renew your insurance of Elbit Systems UK, and do not insure the company, or any of its subsidiaries in the future. We also request that you completely divest from Elbit Systems Ltd. If you can confirm that you will cease all dealings with Elbit Systems, we will happily end our campaign against you.
However, Palestine Action has not received a reply.
Elbit’s Employers’ Liability Insurance policy with Allianz was due for renewal on 7 November 2024 – the day of Palestine Action’s action. The group hopes that Allianz will take the visit to their Belfast office as a timely reminder that links to Elbit are bad for business, and that they might want to look at the rising cost of their own insurance premiums.
A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:
As long as companies aid and abet the Genocide in Gaza, through links to Elbit Systems, there will be no let-up in our actions upon them.
Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action
