UK convicts four Palestinian Action activists over hacking Israeli firm | News

Members of the now-banned Palestine Action group raided Elbit Systems’ facility in Bristol 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Four of six British pro-Palestinian activists have been found guilty of criminal damage in connection with a 2024 raid on a factory operated by Israeli defense firm Elbit, with one of the accused found guilty of hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer.

On Tuesday, London’s Woolwich Crown Court 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 the six defendants were members of the outlawed group Palestine Action, which organized the attack on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, south-west England, in August 2024.

The raid, which prosecutors say caused about one million pounds ($1.36 million) in damage, took place about 10 months after Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023.

Palestinian Action was later banned under “terrorism” lawa decision ruled unlawful by London’s High Court, although the group remains banned pending the government’s appeal, which was heard last week.

Acquitted of aggravated burglary

Corner, who prosecutors say struck a police officer with a sledgehammer, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Each of the defendants gave evidence before the jury and admitted to damaging Israeli military drones and equipment at Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton, Bristol – to “save lives in Palestine”, according to a statement from their lawyers.

The defendants’ defense team said in a statement: “The defendants have already defeated the most serious charges” and “they went into this trial with their heads held high knowing that regardless of the verdict, by destroying Israeli military drones, their actions likely saved lives in Palestine.”

Tuesday’s verdicts follow an earlier trial, after which all six defendants were obtain of aggravated burglary, and the previous jury was unable to reach a verdict on the criminal damage charges.

Prosecutors later dropped violent disorder charges against all six defendants.

The British government banned Palestine Action in July, days after its activists sneaked into an air force base in southern England.

Elbit Systems is a defense technology company with about 20,000 employees and $2 billion in revenue, according to the firm’s website.