Activists from Palestine Action Scotland sabotaged the internet cables of Edinburgh’s Leonardo factory and sprayed red paint over their fighter jet model displays. It was over its supplying of kit to Israel, which is currently committing an ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Palestine Action: breaking the internet
In the early hours of Tuesday 28 May, activists from Palestine Action opened the box of cables, cut the internet wires, sprayed expanding foam inside the box and spray painted ‘Stop Arming Israel’ on the lid:
At the front of the factory, others sprayed the fighter jet display with paint to symbolise the company’s role in spilling Palestinian blood:
Leonardo who continue to arm the Israeli military is one of the world’s largest weapons producers.
The Edinburgh Leonardo weapons factory specialise in ‘high-energy military lasers’, which are rigged to F-35 fighter jets, which Israel have been using extensively to bomb Gaza. Leonardo also supply Israel with Aermacchi M-346 aircraft and components for its Apache attack helicopters, all while benefitting from millions in Scottish Enterprise funding.
The weapons firm also merged with Israeli arms company RADA Electronic Industries, in a move that gives Leonardo a “stable domestic presence in the Israeli industrial context”.
In recent days, Israel has continued to bombard Rafah — where Palestinians were previously told to seek refuge as it was said to be the last “safe-zone” in the besieged Gaza strip. On Sunday 26 May, Israeli air strikes burned Palestinians alive in their tents and attacks on the area are continuing, despite the International Court of Justice ruling Israel must stop its bombing campaign.
Since 7 October, Israel has killed over 36,000 Palestinians and injured more than 85,000. The occupying forces have used starvation as a weapon of war, cut off internet access and destroyed the majority of Gaza’s infrastructure.
Featured image and video via Palestine Action