Melbourne activists shut down Elbit Systems' drone factory

NOTE: This action is currently ongoing at 235 Ingles St Port Melbourne.

At 8am members of the Melbourne Palestine Action Coalition (MPAC) shut down the headquarters of Israeli arms manufacturer, ELBIT SYSTEMS, at 235 Ingles St Port Melbourne to mark the first anniversary of the 2014 Israeli ‘Protective Edge’ assault on Gaza. The group have blockaded access to the building and currently have two people locked on to the entrance gate, who state that they are prepared to remain there as long as possible. This is the second time the pro-Palestinian group has disrupted Elbit Systems, the first time being in August 2014 when they occupied the building’s roof and blockaded the entrance to Elbit during the 2014 Israeli attack on Gaza. (see more photos of the previous action)

MPAC spokesperson Kat Moore explains:

“This blockade is part of an International campaign to shut down Elbit Systems and coincides with events in London later today, to mark the anniversary of the deadly assault on GAZA last year. We are here today to demand the Australian Government end military trade deals with Israel and cancel all domestic contracts with Elbit Systems. We, like many other groups around the world, call on the UN and all governments to take immediate steps to implement a comprehensive and legally binding military embargo on Israel.”


Braving the cold and the cold-hearted, Melbourne activists lock on to a shut factory gate at Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of unmanned aerial drones used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in their ongoing siege and frequent military offensives in Gaza. MPAC are also targeting the arms manufacturer over domestic contracts with the Australian military and federal police. The group claim the Australian government have awarded 185 procurement contracts to Elbit Systems since 2007 totalling $704,728,650* of Australian tax payer dollars, during a period which saw the most egregious crimes against the Palestinian people in the near 50-year illegal Israeli occupation of their lives and territories, including;

* 2008/2009 Operation ‘Cast Lead’
* 2012 Operation ‘Pillar of Defence’
* 2014 Operation ‘Protective Edge’

MPAC spokesperson Sam Castro stated:

“Israel’s ability to launch such devastating attacks with impunity largely stems from the vast international military cooperation and trade that it maintains with complicit governments across the world, one of the most vigorous funders being the Australian Government. By importing and exporting arms to Israel and facilitating the development of Israeli military technology, governments are effectively sending a clear message of approval for Israel’s military aggression, including its war crimes and possible crimes against humanity”

In the final report from the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, issued on June 22, 2015, the UN state “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” and that “impunity prevails across the board” regarding the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza.

UN Representative for the report, Ms. McGowan Davis, hopes the report will persuade governments to address “the crying need” for changes in policies regarding the use of weapons with a wide-area effect in densely populated areas. The commission said that “the scale of the devastation was unprecedented” in Gaza, where it counted 2,251 Palestinian deaths and 18,000 homes destroyed.

MPAC spokesperson Sam Castro stated:

“This is just the beginning of a global campaign to stop the war profiteering of private corporations off the people of Palestine and others around the world. Israel’s military technology is marketed as “field-tested” and exported across the world. Military trade and joint military-related research relations with Israel embolden Israeli impunity in committing grave violations of international law and facilitate the entrenchment of Israel’s system of occupation, colonisation and systematic denial of Palestinian rights.

#ShutDownElbit #StopArmingIsrael
#BlockTheFactory #FreePalestine

MEDIA CONTACT (currently onsite)

Sam Castro 0439 569 289

Kat
 Moore 0422 258 159

Tensions grow again in Gaza with Israeli official reports of “attack tunnels” being repaired by Hamas, and calls for EU troop deployment in the region. Countless tunnels have been dug under Gaza, often with bare hands, to smuggle food, medicine, gas, building materials and other items, all of which remain scarce since the enclave was “put on a diet”.

Water too, of the drinking variety, has been in direly short supply, with access limited to a few hours a week. That there has been a long-term need for “smuggling tunnels” is supported by the medical reports of Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who noted back in 2009 that one child in three had stunted growth, due to prolonged malnutrition and starvation. He stated:

“As a result of the Israeli siege, there has been widespread development of anaemia among children and women due to malnutrition as a result of siege and poverty. Stunting, where a child is more than two standard deviations shorter than what it should be, is sharply on the rise. In 2006, around 13.5 percent of children were stunted. In 2009, 31.4 percent under age two were stunted.

In other words, every third child is less developed than he or she should be. And stunting does not only affect growth. It also affects brain development and the ability to learn. This is a direct consequence of malnutrition.

Remember, this is not caused by drought or natural disasters, but a deliberate, man-made lack of food and water, imposed, planned, and executed in the most detailed way by the Israeli government. They even calculate how many calories to let in to Gaza to avoid outright starvation, but to “just” cause malnutrition since that goes under the radar of human rights abuses.”

Antony Loewenstein on Gaza at Politics in the Pub

According to Antony Loewenstein, in a recent talk at ‘Politics in the Pub’ in Sydney, and Noam Chomsky on numerous occasions, liberal Zionists and the younger generation have become increasingly uncomfortable with the actions of the Israeli State and its US backers.

There has been little dispute that Gaza’s tunnels leading into Egypt are for the purpose of smuggling live-saving supplies. Whether those that lead to Israel are for the purpose of attacking Israelis “in their beds” is questionable.