Palestine Action says its activists this morning again blockaded the Instro Precision Elbit factory in Kent, obstructing entrances with vehicles and climbing on security boxes and the ledge of Discovery Park House. The site, manufacturing sights and target acquisition products for the Israeli military, was previously entered and damaged in June.

The premises, at Sandwich’s ‘Discovery Park’, regularly export sight and target acquisition products to Israel, with at least 50 export licenses approved within a 5-year period. The group said Instro’s weapons products are used by “marksmen of both Infantry and Special Operation Forces”, including those conducting ground operations in Gaza.

Instro also manufactures target acquisition products fitted to Israeli Skylark drones and to ground vehicles with “hunter-killer capabilities”. All of these products can potentially comprise Instro’s dozens of ‘ML5’ category exports.

The blockaders were not satisfied with the government’s limited ban on arms exports to Israel. According to a group spokesperson, “Britain has allowed 92% of arms export licenses to continue and given permission for Israeli weapons factories to keep operating across the country”.

The group pledged to continue direct action against Elbit Systems until it “can no longer operate in Britain” and referred to its 16 “political prisoners detained for trying to stop a genocide” in Gaza.

~ Scott Harris