Two British Police officers and a security guard were wounded by vandals armed with sledgehammers, axes, whips, and other homemade weapons in an attack on a Bristol area defense firm facility on Tuesday, according to the Avon and Somerset Police, Elbit Systems UK Limited, and Palestine Action.
Two police officers were assaulted with a sledgehammer when they intervened in the vandalism of Elbit UK’s South Gloucestershire Horizon facility. Police said Tuesday that one officer was taken to the hospital for back injuries, and another was treated at the scene by paramedics for an injury to the back of the leg.
Security staff were also attacked with weapons after the vandals rammed through the fence and into a building entrance with a large prison van before dawn, according to police and a video posted by Palestine Action on Instagram.
Over a dozen people exited the vehicle and began to smash equipment, machinery, and building fixtures. According to Elbit UK vehicle training equipment manufactured for the British Armed Forces was targeted. Police said at least one employee was treated for a head injury at the scene.
Police arrived at the Patchway town site and arrested six attackers and seized their weapons, and are working to identify other suspects that fled the scene. Police are reviewing CCTV footage and performing forensic analysis of the van and facility.
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“We’ve managed to break into the most secure Elbit facility. You’ve been Pal Actioned. Long live the resistance. Intifada, intifada now,” said Palestine Action “actionists” who had been PAVA sprayed in a video posted by the group to Instagram.
Palestine Action later organized protests at the police stations at which the suspects were held, according to the group’s Instagram stories.
Avon and Somerset Police Superintendent Paul Wigginton said that the willingness to use violence against anyone that got in the way of the vandals was disturbing.
“The criminal damage is bad enough but to attack people with weapons is outrageous,” said Wigginton.
“The officers who responded to what was initially a report of a burglary demonstrated great courage when faced with offenders armed with weapons. The Chief Constable has visited the officer who was taken to hospital and while she continues to receive treatment, thankfully her injuries are not serious. It is a sad fact that officers now expect to face acts of violence as they respond to crimes in action and protect the public. This is completely unacceptable and anyone responsible for such shameful behavior can expect to go to prison.”
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Perpetrators will be held accountable
An Elbit UK spokesperson said that they would work with authorities to ensure that the perpetrators would be held accountable and “face the full force of the law.”
“The UK defense industry urgently requires adequate protection from this nationally coordinated and politically motivated violence,” said the spokesperson.
Palestine Action said on Tuesday that they had attacked the facility because it was a development and manufacturing hub for a major Israeli defense firm.
“By dismantling machinery and weapons, they directly intervened in Elbit’s genocidal supply chain,” Palestine Action said of their operatives.
The Elbit UK spokesperson denied any claims that the Patchway facility supplied the IDF or Israeli Defense Ministry.
“We provide critical support and advanced technology to the British Armed Forces from our Horizon site.”