Four UK Palestinians convicted of breaking into Israeli firm

Six British pro-Palestinian activists have been found guilty of criminal damage in connection with a raid on an Israeli defense firm’s facility in Bristol last year. The defendants, members of the now-banned Palestine Action group, were convicted at London’s Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday.

The six individuals, Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, Zoe Rogers, and Jordan Devlin, were accused of causing approximately £1.36 million in damage to the Elbit Systems UK facility in August 2024. The raid took place about 10 months into Israel’s conflict with Gaza, which began in October 2023.

According to prosecutors, the defendants damaged Israeli military drones and equipment inside the facility as part of their actions. Corner was specifically convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm after striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.

Each defendant admitted to damaging the equipment during their testimony before the jury. Their lawyers stated that the defendants’ actions were intended to “save lives in Palestine.” The defense team also noted that the defendants had already been acquitted of other charges and believed their actions likely saved lives in Palestine.

The UK government proscribed Palestine Action in July, following an incident where activists breached a southern England air force base. Elbit Systems is a defense technology company with approximately 20,000 staff and revenues of $2 billion, according to its website.

Source: Al Jazeera