Activists have staged a ‘silent protest’ outside Barclay’s HQ in London. It was over the bank £1.3bn of shares in companies that supply arms and tech to Israel.
Barclays: complicit in Israel’s genocide
On Thursday 30 November, activists from Fossil Free London held a silent demonstration outside the headquarters of Barclays, to stand in solidarity with Palestine and in protest of Barclays investments in Israeli arms companies:
The protest comes as the humanitarian situation in Palestine worsens, as displaced Palestinians call for a permanent ceasefire.
Signs read ‘Barclays profits from genocide’ and ‘Barclays profits from apartheid’, as protestors stood silently outside the offices dressed in black as staff walked in:
Last year, whilst remaining the number one European bank financing fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement, Barclays also owned £1.3bn worth of shares in companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology:
The protest is part of a series of actions by Fossil Free London that attempt to demonstrate the interlinkages between the climate crisis and the situation in Palestine. Last week, they protested outside BP after Israel granted twelve gas exploration licences off the coast of Gaza to six companies, including BP, at the end of October.
As the Canary previously reported:
Amidst Israel’s ongoing bombing of Gaza, Israel granted twelve gas exploration licences off the coast of Gaza to six companies, including BP, at the end of October.
BP not only received this licence but is also set to acquire 50% of the Israeli Delek Group-owned NewMed, who have also been granted a licence. NewMed owns 45% of Leviathan, the largest gas field in the Mediterranean, situated off the coast of Israel.
Billions invested to kill Palestinians
Joanna Warrington, a spokeswoman for Fossil Free London, said:
As Israel continues its genocide on the people of Gaza, all the bosses of Barclays see is a business opportunity. Just as they continue to finance new fossil fuel expansion projects, banks like Barclays prop up violent arms and fossil fuel corporations with their investments.
All the time that banks like Barclays profit from human suffering as they invest in violent and environmentally destructive practices we will be here to hold them to account. The climate movement stands in solidarity with Palestinians, and against fossil fuel banks operating with impunity to fund the arms and oil that kill en masse.
Fossil Free London’s protest came after research released by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), and War on Want last year uncovered that Barclays holds over £1bn in shares and provides over £3bn in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in Israel’s armed violence against Palestinians.
The companies identified include Elbit Systems, which produces military technology, surveillance systems and drones used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians, including its bombing campaigns of the besieged Gaza Strip. A range of financial institutions have divested from Elbit Systems due to its role in producing weapons used in violation of international law, including internationally banned cluster munitions.
Featured image and additional images via Fossil Free London
