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Leicester factory occupation: Activists uncover military drone after breaking into site

ACTIVISTS occupying the roof of an Israeli arms factory in Leicester for six days entered the building today and uncovered military drone parts. 

Members of the Palestine Action group have been holding out on the roof of the UAV Tactical Systems factory in Leicester since last Wednesday. 

The action has brought weapons production at the factory, owned by Israel’s largest private arms firm Elbit Systems and Thales UK, to a halt and has prompted a wave of local support. 

Palestine Action said the body of a military drone had been found by the activists today after they had managed to enter the building. The group said police moved into the factory to guard the drone. 

One of the group’s co-founders, Huda Ammori, told the Morning Star that the images confirm what they already knew: that Elbit and Thales are making military drones at the site.

“I think this just shows first-hand the real nature of what this protest actually means — and what’s lying underneath these activists while they are on the roof, and what they are stopping, which is these drones that are used to kill people,” she said. 

The group says that weapons produced at the factory have been used by the Israeli military to kill Palestinians in Gaza, where at least 230 people were killed in the recent 11 days of relentless bombing by Israel. 

Two of the four activists who began the occupation last week climbed down on Friday night to conserve supplies of food and water for the remaining two to continue the action. 

The remaining pair are said to be running low on food and water. At the weekend, the group claimed police had denied dehydrated protesters access to water. 

Ms Ammori said that the police’s refusal to give water to protesters while making a concerted effort to protect military drones “just shows how skewed their reality, and the state’s reality of humanity, really is.”

Leicestershire Police was contacted for comment. 

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