Palestine Action and Youth Demand teamed up today to paint the Ministry of Defence headquarters in London while other supporters marched through London. They are demanding an end to the Ministry of Defence’s contracts with Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems and an end to all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK, including revoking oil and gas licences issued since 2021. Activists from each group sprayed red paint over the Government building on Victoria Embankment Gardens at 2 pm. Shortly afterwards, they were joined by supporters who had been marching through central London, holding a banner that read ‘YOUTH DEMAND AN END TO GENOCIDE’. All five action takers were arrested at the scene by 3.15 pm.  Audrey Xiarui Corno, 21, is a dancer from Peckham and a supporter of Palestine Action who took action today. They said:

“The United Kingdom has been complicit in this genocide from the beginning. We still don’t have the exact figures for how much has been produced and traded, but we know that private arms companies like Elbit Systems have made a KILLING since October.”

“Elbit Systems is one of Israel’s biggest arms manufacturers and holds active contracts with the Ministry of Defence. I am ashamed of this country. We do not have a Ministry of Defence but a Ministry of Murder.”
The Ministry of Defence is training the Israeli military in Britain. The UK government has admitted that nine Israeli military aircraft have landed in Britain since October 7. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has refused to say what those planes are carrying or what they are doing.