UK convicts four Palestine Action activists over break-in at Israeli firm
TL;DR
Four activists from Palestine Action were convicted for a 2024 break-in at an Israeli defense firm, causing £1 million in damage. One activist was also found guilty of assaulting a police officer with a sledgehammer.
Key points
- Four activists convicted of criminal damage
- Raid caused about £1 million in damages
- One activist found guilty of assaulting a police officer
- Palestine Action is a banned group under UK law
- High Court ruled the ban unlawful, but remains pending appeal
Mentioned in this story
Four of six British pro-Palestinian activists have been convicted of criminal damage relating to a 2024 raid on a factory operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit, with one of the defendants found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
London’s Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday found Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, guilty. Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were found not guilty.
Prosecutors said that the six defendants were members of the banned group Palestine Action, which organised the assault on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August 2024.
The raid, which prosecutors said caused about one million pounds ($1.36m) of damage, took place about 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023.
Palestine Action was later proscribed under “terrorism” law, a decision which was ruled unlawful by London’s High Court, though the group remains banned pending the government’s appeal, which was heard last week.
Acquitted of aggravated burglary
Corner, who prosecutors said struck a police officer with a sledgehammer, was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Each of the defendants gave evidence in front of the jury, admitting that they damaged Israeli military drones and equipment inside Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton, Bristol – in order to “save lives in Palestine”, according to a statement by their lawyers.
The defence team of the defendants said in a statement: “The defendants already defeated the most serious charges” and “they went into this trial with their heads held high and with the knowledge that no matter the verdict, by destroying Israeli military drones, their action likely saved lives in Palestine”.
Tuesday’s verdicts follow an earlier trial, after which all six defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary, and the previous jury could not reach verdicts on the criminal damage charges.
Prosecutors later dropped charges of violent disorder against all six defendants.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action in July, days after its activists sneaked into an air force base in southern England.
Elbit Systems is a defence technology company with about 20,000 staff and revenues of $2bn, according to the firm’s website.
Q&A
What were the convictions related to the Palestine Action raid?
The convictions were for criminal damage stemming from a raid on an Elbit Systems factory, resulting in about £1 million in damages.
Who were the activists convicted in the Elbit Systems raid?
The convicted activists are Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani.
What is the current legal status of Palestine Action in the UK?
Palestine Action is currently banned under terrorism laws, although a High Court ruling deemed the proscription unlawful, pending a government appeal.
