Video: London activists occupy Airbus to protest Israel weapons deals

More than twenty activists occupied the London offices of Airbus on Friday to protest the aerospace company’s military cooperation with Israel.

“Staff were unable to arrive for work and senior executives agreed to meet the campaigners in a bid to end the occupation of the second floor office on the Strand,” says a statement from London Palestine Action. “The occupation lasted more than an hour, whilst others distributed leaflets and spoke to the public outside the offices.”

The video shows activists inside Airbus’ offices and at a certain point police are called.

Activists occupy the London offices of aircraft and weapons manufacturer Airbus.

Coralie Datta

“Airbus writes on its website that ‘contributing to the wellbeing of the communities in which it works is an ethical imperative,’ but there is nothing ethical about profiting from Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people,” London Palestine Action states.

“Airbus has close ties with Israel Aerospace Industries, which is an Israeli state-owned company that is a key supplier of drones to the Israeli military. Drones were widely used in attacks on civilians during the recent Israeli attack on Gaza in which more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed,” the statement adds.

Airbus and Israel Aerospace Industries are currently working together to build a drone based on the Heron model extensively used in Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

Among the companies’ other collaborations, London Palestine Action notes, are an “early warning system” for warplanes and a “semi-robotic pilot controlled vehicle” called Taxibot.

“Their collaboration also extends to several EU-funded scientific research projects. This year, they’ve announced their latest joint venture that will see them supplying the German military with drones until 2020,” the release states.

As The Electronic Intifada’s David Cronin revealed, EU officials have falsely portrayed grants to Israeli weapons makers including Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries as being “civilian in nature.”

London Palestine Action calls itself “a network of people in London taking creative action against Israeli apartheid through boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigning and other solidarity actions.”

During last summer’s Israeli attack on Gaza, members of the group occupied the Cabinet Office, one of the key UK government buildings.

The group also succeeded in shutting down the UK subsidiary of Elbit until activists were forcibly removed by police.

A copy of London Palestine Action’s leaflet is below.

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Comments

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It's about time Airbus is called to task for participating in Israeli projects. It's also time to shake down BAE Systems for its business interests in Israel.

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It is only when Israel's war crimes and those industries and individuals aiding and abetting Israel's brutal occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people are brought to the public's attention will we see any change in Israel's ability to wreck havoc on the lives of Palestinians. Keep up the pressure on Israel and those who facilitate Israel's war crimes. Make the public aware!

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The Airbus/France/EU stories are valuable contributions.

The "moral of the story"---in English phrase concluding many statements or
stories which in fact have no "morals" at all---- is a reminder of the truth that
"we" are indeed very small. They are enormous and powerful.

We can never give up our struggle. We must always recognize the
power of our opponents. (For a more eloquent statement see the
epiloque by the late Gabriel Kolko in his book THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN
FOREIGN POLICY : AN ANALYSIS OF POWER AND PURPOSE,
"On Reason and Radicalism".

Peter Loeb, Boston, MA, USA

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Until all powerful governments boycott this apartheid State, nothing will change, but it's still good this is happening.
Fascist globalisation for that is what it is, and the illusion of freedom is marching ahead under banners of liberal democracy and double speak generating a hypnosis of consent.
The hypocricy of a deluded world erasing truth from an agenda sculpted by corporate States has to be rocking this galaxy. The morons of myopia are in a feeding frenzy of war crimes but need the majority of people to tuck them in at night which is what is happening.
We, the people for justice must oust this scum and unity is the only way.

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.