No groups have claimed responsibility for the vandalism of the factory, which included graffiti on walls and damage done to computers on site.
The New Arab Staff
04 January, 2026
A group of pro-Palestine activists stormed and vandalised an aerospace manufacturing factory located near Edinburgh, protesting its links to Israel.
Images posted online showed the Bruntons Aero Products site spray-painted with slogans in red, shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day.
The factory was targeted due to its supply of specialist parts for the arms and defence companies Leonardo and BAE Systems, both of which have garnered international criticism for their links to Israel amid the devastating war on Gaza.
The companies are accused of supplying the Israeli military with components for F-35 fighter jets used in attacks on the besieged enclave.
According to various reports, the group of activists also used hammers to cause damage to computers.
One slogan graffitied on the site read: "There’s only one way this ends". In other social media videos and photos, the activists said that "direct action" was the only way to stop companies from "supporting Israeli occupation crimes".
Police have said they are investigating the incident, with a Police Scotland spokesperson confirming "inquiries are ongoing" after they received a report of a break-in and damage at the premises.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident yet; however, Leonardo’s factory in Edinburgh has previously been subjected to attacks.
In July, activists from Shut Down Leonardo Edinburgh drove a fence into a nearby factory belonging to the company and were later arrested. In another incident a month later, demonstrators against the war on Gaza blocked the entrance to the site by parking a van there.
The direct action comes as the death toll from Israel’s offensive in Gaza topped 71,385 on Sunday. Leading international rights groups accuse Israel of carrying out war crimes and have determined the war to be a genocide.
The war has plunged Gaza into a deep humanitarian crisis and triggered famine in parts of the enclave last year, resulting in scores of people dying from malnutrition.
Rights groups state that Israel is also accused of displacing the population, targeting civilian areas including hospitals and displacement camps, as well as heavily restricting emergency aid.
Similar protests against companies and factories linked to Israel have also taken place around the world.
In April, dozens of pro-Palestine activists mobilised in Morocco, where a Maersk ship suspected of transporting F-35 fighter jet components to Israel was believed to be.
Activists with BDS Morocco, MaskOff Maersk, and the Palestinian Youth Movement said they believed the ship was carrying a bulk shipment of "surface analysers", devices used for spot repairs on damaged F-35s — equipment deemed critical to maintaining the jets currently deployed by Israel to bomb Gaza.
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