Pro-Palestine Demonstrators Call for Shutdown of Israeli Arms Factory in UK
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied across the UK, demanding the closure of an Israeli-owned defense manufacturer supplying the British army.
These series of demonstrations targeted Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ Armstrong works in Newcastle, situated by the River Tyne.
Dozens of activists, some clutching cloth bundles stained red to symbolize infants lost in the Israel war on Gaza, obstructed the facility. Among them, one woman held a sign saying, “This factory kills children,” while others brandished Palestinian flags and a banner reading “Geordies Against Genocide.”
Campaigners in the North-East have persistently urged for Rafael's closure since the October 7 attacks, accusing the company of complicity in "arming Israel in its genocide of the Palestinian people."
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems acquired Pearson Engineering defense group in 2022, citing it as part of their "strategic expansion in the United Kingdom." As Israel’s third-largest defense entity, Rafael boasts over 8,000 employees and operates 30 subsidiaries globally, serving the defense, security, and aerospace sectors.
The firm was selected by the British army to provide the Trophy Active Protection System for armored vehicles, designed to counter anti-tank missiles and rockets.
The Shut Down Rafael Newcastle campaign group emphasizes, "The Israeli state-owned weapons factory Rafael is on our doorstep, in our city, and it is arming Israel in its genocide of the Palestinian people."
Simultaneously, hundreds of activists staged protests nationwide against Israeli assaults on Gaza, which claimed the lives of at least 31,553 Palestinians and left 73,546 others injured. Demonstrations occurred in Cardiff, Bristol, Derby, Sheffield, Lancaster, and even as far as Kirkwall in Orkney.
