Pro-Palestine activists target Scottish facility over Israeli military links

Pro-Palestine activists targeted a facility in Scotland early on Friday morning over its alleged links to weapons firms that supply parts to the Israeli military, Scottish daily The National reported. 

According to the newspaper, members of the pro-Palestine activist group Palestine Action raided the Glasgow-based Righton Blackburns service centre, reportedly smashing windows and spraying red paint.  

The report also stated that activists spray-painted the words "Drop Thales and Leonardo" on the side of the building, referencing the weapons manufacturing firms that are said to produce drones, helicopter parts and targeting systems used by the Israeli military during the Gaza war.

The group later confirmed on social media that they had targeted Righton Blackburns, which supplies metals and plastics, as it was accused of being part of the supply chain for companies in Scotland that provide Israel with components for weapons used against Gaza’s population.

In a Saturday post on the social media platform X, Palestine Action emphasised that they "will break every link in the genocidal supply chain." 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the group told the Scottish tabloid The Scottish Sun: 

"We are ordinary local residents taking direct action against the bloody supply chain enabling Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. 

“Anyone similarly horrified by this state of affairs could do as we have done." 

"Our governments are not only standing by while a genocidal campaign is carried out in plain sight, but are actively supplying the armaments that enable Israel’s disgusting crimes against humanity," the spokesperson added.

On its website, Righton Blackburns describes itself as a distributor of "aerospace and speciality alloys to the UK and worldwide markets".

According to The Scottish Sun, quality metals and plastics are sent from British sites including Plymouth, Portsmouth, Bristol and Manchester. 

British and Scottish pro-Palestine activists have argued that the company supplies aerospace and defence firms with speciality alloys that have military applications. 

Its customers include Leonardo, Thales, and BAE Systems, all of which have been repeatedly targeted for their production of weapons systems and components for F-35 fighter jets supplied to the Israeli military. 

Britain’s role in the F-35 programme, particularly its supply of components, has come under scrutiny amid concerns over the aircraft’s potential deployment in Israeli military operations in Gaza. 

Despite the enforcement of a two-month-long Israeli blockade, which has restricted all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and drawn condemnation from rights groups warning of a man-made famine that has worsened the crisis, the UK last month reiterated that it was "confident" in its position to continue licensing the export of spare parts that could end up in Israeli F-35 fighter jets. 

Last year, the British government halted approximately 30 arms export licences to Israel following a review which concluded that British-made weaponry could potentially be used to breach international humanitarian law in Gaza.  

However, in March, the UK's Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, stated that an exception had been made for F-35 spare parts sent indirectly to Israel, arguing it was "in the interest of international peace and security". 

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), a UK-based organisation dedicated to ending the international arms trade, has reported that several British arms companies are involved in supplying Israel. Among them is BAE Systems, which produces around 15 percent of the components for F-35 combat aircraft manufactured in the UK. These aircraft are reportedly being used by Israel to drop 2,000lb bombs on Gaza

CAAT has also accused other major arms companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon of supplying many of the weapons being used by Israel in Gaza.

Palestine Action has focused on targeting weapons firms operating in Britain, along with their suppliers, since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza on 7 October, 2023. 

Earlier this week, the UK activist group announced that it had successfully persuaded Manchester-based metal components manufacturer Dean Group International to cut all ties with arms manufacturer Elbit Systems' UK subsidiary, Instro Precision.