UK

Hundreds of trade unionists blockade BAE Systems factory in Israel-Gaza protest

Lucas Cumiskey, PA
Fri, 10 November 2023 

Hundreds of trade unionists under the banner “Workers for a Free Palestine” have blockaded weapons manufacturer BAE Systems’ factory in Kent in protest over the Israel-Gaza war.

Activists descended on the site in Chatham, Rochester, at about 7am on Friday and blocked its two entrances as part of an international day of action called for by Palestinian trade unions to “end complicity in Israel’s war crimes”.

An organiser said that more than 400 trade unionists are involved in the action at the site, which they claim provides components for military aircraft being used in the bombardment of Gaza.

BAE Systems said it is “horrified by the situation in Israel and Gaza”, adding: “We operate under the tightest regulation and comply fully with all applicable defence export controls, which are subject to ongoing assessment.”

A protester hangs a banner on a fence outside weapons manufacturer BAE Systems in Rochester, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The blockade consists of health workers, teachers, hospitality workers, academics, artists and more who are members of trade unions such as Unite, Unison, GMB, the NEU, the BMA, the UCU, Bectu and the BFAWU.

Th activists are calling for “an end to the UK Government’s complicity in war crimes being committed in Palestine, by ending arms sales to Israel and supporting an immediate ceasefire”.

Some protesters are clutching Palestinian flags and signs which say “Free Palestine”, “UK is guilty”, “End the genocide” and “Stop arming Israel’s war machine”.

At one entrance, the group chanted slogans such as “1,2,3,4, occupation no more; 5,6,7,8, Israel is a terrorist state”, and: “BAE must be stopped, no more bombs must be dropped.”

Trade unionists and protesters form a blockade outside weapons manufacturer BAE Systems in Rochester, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

They also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, despite controversy around the slogan’s meaning.

Outside the factory, Harriet, 32, from east London, told the PA news agency: “I work in A&E and we got here very early, I think we got here about 6.20am or 6.30am this morning. Behind us is the BAE factory where some central components of the fighter jets that Israel is using to bomb Palestine are made and then they are shipped to Israel and become a part of the killer fighter planes.

“The more than 10,000 now Palestinian civilians that have been killed in the last couple of weeks are literally at the mercy of these weapons.

“So we’re trying to turn workers away who are coming to do their job which is assembling those weapons and we’re trying to stop deliveries getting in and out of the factory which so far has been successful. We’ve turned quite a few workers away.

“I think this has been a long month and it’s been a very long 75 years for Palestine. And I think people are getting rightly so angry and I think fatigued of the genocide but not of fighting it.

“I’m here because I’m a person. I’m also here because I’m a medic and we’ve seen hundreds of medical staff in Gaza killed, some still under the rubble.

“Just last night the Indonesian hospital in Gaza has been bombed again, al Ahli hospital has been bombed, al Shifa hospital, the biggest hospital in Gaza has been bombed. There’s absolutely no protection or sanctity for the medical facilities, if anything they’ve been targeting which is I think a testament to just how evil the plan of wiping Gaza off the map is.”

Trade unionists and protesters formed a blockade outside BAE Systems in Rochester, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Alexandra, a teacher and National Education Union member, said: “I’m joining the blockade today because as a teacher and trade unionist it’s impossible to stand by and watch as our government supports Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, including with arms from this very factory.

“As a teacher, seeing 185 schools and other educational institutions in Gaza bombed is utterly heartbreaking.”

A BAE Systems spokesperson said: “We’re horrified by the situation in Israel and Gaza and the devastating impact it’s having on civilians in the region and we hope it can be resolved as soon as possible.

“We respect everyone’s right to protest peacefully.”

The Israel-Hamas war started after a Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,400 people.

The Hamas-run health ministry says that a month of retaliatory bombardment by Israel on Gaza has killed more than 10,500 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children.

Pro-Palestine activists shut down BAE factory

Chris Price
Fri, 10 November 2023 

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters have blocked entrances of a defence factory which supplies the Royal Air Force as they called for an end to arms sales to Israel.

A plant in Kent run by BAE Systems, Britain’s largest weapons maker, was targeted on Friday morning by around 50 people waving Palestinian flags and who held signs saying “Stop Arming Israel”.

The activists gathered outside the factory gates chanting slogans like “ceasefire now” and “How many kids have you killed today?”.

The protest comes ahead of a separate march planned in London on Armistice Day by Palestinian-supporting groups.

BAE Systems said does it not directly export equipment to Israel but the firm does supply the United States-made F-35 fighter jets – which are being used in the Gaza conflict.

A BAE spokesman said: “We’re horrified by the situation in Israel and Gaza and the devastating impact it’s having on civilians in the region and we hope it can be resolved as soon as possible.

“We respect everyone’s right to protest peacefully. We operate under the tightest regulation and comply fully with all applicable defence export controls, which are subject to ongoing assessment.”

Weapons for fighter planes have been developed and made at BAE’s Rochester factory for more than 60 years, starting with those for the Cold War-era Blackburn Buccaneer jet in 1958.

Protesters claimed as many 400 activists were blockading the BAE Systems factory in Rochester - Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

The factory, which employs 1,500 people, has developed helmet displays and joysticks for the newest F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The site also develops civilian technology, including displays for airline pilots.

Campaigners estimate the value of components supplied by Britain’s BAE Systems to Israel could be worth more than £300m since 2016. This figure has been contested by industry insiders.

The protests follow similar demonstrations outside Israeli-owned factories in Britain.

Two of Israel’s biggest defence firms, Elbit and Rafael, both have operations in the UK and their work includes producing missile defence systems for Israel’s Iron Dome network.

Last month, activists protested against the bombing of Gaza at the entrance of an Elbit-owned factory in Sandwich, Kent, blocking suppliers from reaching the plant which makes sensor equipment.

A string of protests also led to Elbit ditching a site near Manchester last year, as it responded to calls for it to be shut down.