London: The British factory of a major Israeli weapons manufacturer has apparently closed after being repeatedly targeted by Palestine Action, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
Elbit Systems UK has held the lease on the site in Bristol’s Aztec West business park since 2019, and it was not due to expire until 2029.
The factory was targeted by dozens of protests by the banned group Palestine Action, involving demonstrators locking themselves to hinges, climbing on the roof, smashing windows and spraying red paint across the site.
Elbit Systems UK is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest producer of weapons that reported revenues of $6.8 billion last year.
The firm describes itself as the “backbone” of the Israeli military’s drone fleet, which has been deployed extensively in Gaza. Elbit also produces parts and systems for jets, helicopters, naval drones and land vehicles.
The Guardian visited the Bristol factory of its UK subsidiary this week but found the site deserted.
The subsidiary did not respond to a request for comment by the newspaper, which reported that no staff were present at the site aside from a lone security guard outside the premises.
A separate Elbit facility in Bristol, located in Filton, was also targeted by Palestine Action, with 24 of the group’s members awaiting trial on charges relating to protests against the site.
These include criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary. One person has also been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent.
The latest accounts from Elbit System UK show that the subsidiary reported an operating loss of $6.3 million last year, compared to a profit of $5.1 million in 2023.
In 2024, the British operation sold its West Midlands-based subsidiary Elite KL, which suffered a 75 percent plunge in operating profit in 2022, citing increased security costs at one of its sites as a result of Palestine Action protests.
Elite KL rebranded to Calatherm under an arranged buyout, and the new firm has pledged to avoid any association with Elbit and cancel its defense contracts.
In 2022, Elbit sold Oldham-based Ferranti P&C after its site was targeted by 18 months of protests led by Palestine Action.
Private Eye, the current affairs magazine, revealed last month that Elbit Systems UK was part of a consortium targeting a $2.7 billion contract to become a “strategic partner” of the UK Ministry of Defence.
Peter Hain, a former government minister, wrote to Defense Minister Jon Healey in protest against granting the contract given the “devastation unfolding in Gaza,” the Financial Times reported.
Global arms trade expert Andrew Feinstein said the closure of Elbit’s Bristol site is “extremely significant,” adding: “We need to remind ourselves that Elbit is one of the two most important Israeli arms firms, along with Israel Aerospace Industries, and that it is obviously a key component of Israel’s military industrial complex.”
