PROTEST IN SOLIDARITY WITH HUNGER STRIKING PALESTINE ACTIONISTS ~ Scott Harris ~ Sheffield group Stop Arming Israel says its activists today blockaded the Ametek-Land factory in Dronfield, protesting the company’s supply of infrared temperature measurement components to Israeli arms company Elbit. Protestors closed off the entrances for about an hour, chanting and giving speeches in support of the hunger strikers currently on remand in British prisons for taking action against companies involved in Gaza genocide. The prisoners demand a a shut-down of Elbit’s operations in Britain as well as immediate bail, an end to the censorship of their communications, the right to a fair trial, and the de-proscription of Palestine Action. All the hunger strikers have currently been hospitalised, with two of them—Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib—having passed 50 days without food. Several of their families have received little or no updates on their situations, according to the Prisoners for Palestine collective. “The hunger strikers are on death’s door”, said the Sheffield group, “Keir Starmer and David Lammy have Palestinian blood on their hands—and they will have the hunger strikers’ blood on their hands too if they do not act now”. Ametek, whose annual sales top $7 billion, increased its share price by nearly 30% during the first 14 months of the Gaza war. The company supplies Elbit with components for fighter jets and tanks used by the Israeli military. The post Sheffield Elbit supplier blockaded appeared first on Freedom News.

STOP ARMING ISRAEL TARGETS FORGED SOLUTIONS OVER ROLE IN SUPPLYING FIGHTER JETS USED IN GAZA ~ Scott Harris ~ Sheffield-based protest group Stop Arming Israel says its activists this morning once again blockaded the River Don site of weapons manufacturer Forged Solutions. The action follows the group’s previous blockades of the same site in August and of the company’s Meadowhall factory in July. Protesters halted traffic entering the River Don site, standing in front of the gates with banners, chants and speeches denouncing the company’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. Despite a heavy police presence, they continued turning cars and lorries away until 8am. Later in the morning, a larger protest organised by local pro-Palestine groups gathered outside Forged Solutions’ Meadowhall site. The blockade formed part of a national day of action against the F-35 fighter jet, currently being used by Israel in its ongoing assault on Gaza. Called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the coordinated actions also targeted F-35 supply-chain sites in Brough, Cheltenham, Havant and Rochester, demanding a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel. > “We’ve lobbied the council and mayoral authority countless times about > Sheffield’s complicity”, said one participant, “Two years into this genocide, > campaigning is not enough—we must halt the activities of these factories and > disrupt the supply chain”. The post Protesters blockade Sheffield weapons factory in national day of action against the F-35 appeared first on Freedom News.