Elves target Christmas trees to highlight Palestine Action proscription and hunger strikers

The pixies have been out. Or, in this case, the elves and an assortment of furry friends. And they’ve been highlighting the proscription of Palestine Action and the plight of the hunger strikers. Kernow Defend Our Juries has sent word:

Signs supporting the hunger strikers

Across Cornwall, from Boscastle to Penzance, elves from Kernow Defend Our Juries have decorated Christmas trees with a range of Christmas toys holding signs. These say “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” and “I oppose genocide. I support the hunger strikers”.

Other locations where toys holding signs have appeared include Truro, St Agnes, Perranporth and Goonhavern.

Since the proscription of Palestine Action on 5 July, police have arrested over 2,700 people for peacefully sitting with signs supporting the group.

This has included three separate actions in Truro with a different police response each time. On the first occasion, the police arrested all sitters. On the second, they made no arrests. And on the third, they only arrested a small proportion of those sitting.

Critical condition

There are currently 8 Palestine Action affiliated prisoners on hunger strike, with some of them having refused food for over 40 days. They are currently in a critical condition. Five have been in hospital but they are not receiving the medical treatment they need. The hunger strikers have five demands:

1. End all censorship. All the prisoners have had severe restrictions placed on their communication with the outside world.

2. Immediate bail. All the prisoners are being held before trial and will currently spend over a year on remand before facing trial. This is way over the six month pre-trial limit on detention.

3. The right to a fair trial. They are demanding that they are released all relevant documents ahead of their trials. This includes all meetings between British and Israeli state officials, the British police, the attorney general, Elbit Systems representatives, and any others involved in coordinating the ongoing witch-hunt of actionists and campaigners.

4. Deproscribe Palestine Action.

5. Shut Elbit down! Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest arms company. Since 2012, Elbit has won 25 public contracts in the UK totalling more than £355m. Taxpayers’ money should not fund the machinery of genocide and Elbit and its subsidiaries should not be allowed to operate in the UK.

A spokesperson for Kernow Defend our Juries said:

2025 has been a dark year. Despite a supposed ceasefire, Israel is continuing to kill Palestinian people in Gaza with military equipment made in the UK.

Our government is knowingly breaking international law, continuing to supply parts to the F-35 combat jets Israel is using to drop 2000lb bombs on Palestinian children.

Instead of taking the only legal and moral option – imposing a full two-way arms embargo, this government has labelled those taking action to prevent genocide as terrorists.

Our elves are redecorating trees across Cornwall to creatively remind people that while we’re celebrating, children in Palestine are still dying, our country is descending into authoritarianism and hunger strikers in our prisons are in a critical condition.

This action both reflects the farcical nature of the ban on Palestine Action and highlights the draconian terrorist laws in the UK whereby the simple act of attaching some soft toys to Christmas trees could lead to up to 14 years in prison for supporting a terrorist organisation.

We also hope that the sudden appearance of our toys brings some Christmas joy across Kernow, and that if the signs are removed, we ask that the toys are left as gifts for children living in one of the poorest regions in Europe.

We also call on people across the UK to join our Christmas tree campaign, and challenge other areas to attempt to decorate more trees than us!

One of the elves wrote the following account:

Headed by Feathers McGraw (of Wallace and Gromit fame), the motley crew decided to go marauding on tour around Cornwall. It was Christmas and they were hoping to inject some much needed fun into their protests, which had been very serious of late. It was said to be a convergence of other TERRORIST TOYS on TOUR, culminating in a “FLASH MOB” of CHRISTMAS FUN!

Feathers began by scouting out suitable Cornish sites for a little mischief making before he rendez-voused with his Terrorist Friends. They had plenty of fun, toy bombing Xmas trees and, in Ms Mouse’s case, Nativity Scenes.

When challenged about the aptness of the second half of her terrorist placard, she indignantly and most robustly retorted ‘JESUS was an ACTIVIST and took DIRECT ACTION against the money lenders in the Temple! He overturned and smashed their tables and scales and threw them, their money and all their accoutrements right out of the Temple!! OF COURSE HE WOULD SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION AGAINST GENOCIDE!!’

Featured image via Kernow Defend Our Juries