MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Members of the London Palestine Action group shut down a drone engine factory in Staffordshire, UK, protesting the supply of engines to Israel, according to the group’s official twitter page and media reports from The Mirror, Yahoo! News and the BBC.
The protesters shut the factory gates and chained themselves to the roof of a UAV Engines Limited factory on Tuesday, claiming they had food to last a week.
The protestors said that by permitting the factory to send engines for lethal drones to Israel, the UK authorities were supporting Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip and the killing of Palestinians.
The police arrived shortly after the protest started, closing off the road to the factory and releasing a statement, according to which the police were there to ensure that the protest was peaceful and safe.
UAV Engines Limited is a UK-based company owned by Israeli weapons-producer Elbit Systems.
Several years ago Amnesty International UK suspected the engines produced at the factory were being used in military drones deployed during attacks on the Gaza Strip that resulted in civilian casualties.
London Palestine Action is an organization in London that regularly voices its concern about the killing of the Palestinian civilian population through protests. The group’s most recent protest against UK arms sales to Israel took place on July 23.
Meanwhile, the group’s members are not the only ones concerned about the situation in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations condemned Israeli attacks against humanitarian relief staff and supplies, calling them a violation of international humanitarian law, noting that such actions may amount to war crimes.
Spain decided to suspend arms sales to Israel due to the ongoing conflict in the country. The United Arab Emirates confirmed its intention to continue the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. A UK Foreign Office Minister recently resigned over the conflict in the region and the United Kingdom’s policy towards it.
Finally, with Egypt’s mediation, a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian groups led by Hamas was reached on Tuesday.
Israel launched an offensive in Gaza on July, 8, targeting the Hamas movement and its allied groups of rebels. On July 17, after a period of air and naval attacks, Israel switched to a ground operation aiming to destroy the network of Hamas tunnels in the border area.
