“I WAS terrified,” said Ethan, one of four young Palestine Action activists who climbed a ladder onto the roof of an Israeli-owned arms factory in Leicester in the early hours of Wednesday this week, bringing production in the factory to a standstill.

“But we did it. And with support and solidarity we can keep doing this.”

The four activists were still on the factory roof yesterday, having suffered cold and driving rain, but determined to remain until police remove and arrest them, which they know is inevitable.

Before climbing to the roof they had prepared themselves for an uncomfortable stay, taking a tent, warm clothes, food and water to sustain themselves.

Palestine Action is new among the groups campaigning against Israel’s colonisation of Palestine and its development of an apartheid state.

It was launched in July last year by two Palestine activists, Richard Barnard and Huda Ammori, who wanted to intensify campaigns for Palestine and Palestinian rights with direct action, including taking the fight to the heart of the Israeli war machine — the manufacturers who supply the falsely named Israeli Defence Force with weapons.

The activists do so by occupying and blockading the factories manufacturing weapons for Israel, halting production.

They started late last year with Elbit, which has five factories in Britain, manufacturing drones for the Israeli military. 

Since then the five factories have repeatedly been shut down by rooftop occupations.

For every action there is a reaction, and since Palestine Action began successfully halting production, albeit temporarily, at Elbit factories in Britain, Barnard and Ammori have been targeted by police.

Barnard said: “We have had our houses raided and our passports confiscated — illegally. 

“They were given back to us by the courts. The police didn’t even bother to attend. That was on February 3.”

The two are also awaiting trial on charges relating to an occupation at an Elbit factory in Staffordshire.

Elbit is so far Palestine Action’s main target, with a stated aim of driving the company out of Britain.

Elbit has 10 sites in Britain, five of them manufacturing drones and components used in Israel’s systematic subjugation of the Palestinian people.

The drones can drop canisters of tear gas to break up rallies and marches and were used in the last week against protesters taking part in a general strike in Palestine in protest at Israel’s murderous attacks on the people of Gaza. Drones pinpoint targets for Israeli jets and tanks.

Elbit’s five weapons factories are in Leicester, Oldham in Greater Manchester, Shenstone and Tamworth in Staffordshire, and in East Kent. It also has five non-manufacturing sites.

Two are headquarters offices in Bristol and London. The other three are at Royal Air Force bases: RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, RAF Valley in Anglesey in north Wales and RAF Barkston Heath in the East Midlands. 

The RAF allows Elbit to use the three bases for testing the drones before they are sent to Israel — another example of the British government’s complicity in Israel’s repression of the people of Palestine.

Ammori said: “The RAF sites are where Elbit trials the technology, along with other arms companies.”

Palestine Action has targeted all five factories for occupations and blockades, successfully and repeatedly halting production, though temporarily.

Ammori said: “We have shut the Shepstone factory four times in the last four months, the one in Tamworth twice, and Oldham three times.”

She estimates that each day of lost production at an Elbit factory costs the company £50-80,000 in lost profits.

Another of Palestine Action’s aims is to alert communities around the Elbit factories to their role in supplying the Israeli war machine.

Last night a rally took place outside the Leicester factory. Attendance was expected to exceed the 100 who went to the factory gates when the occupation began on Wednesday.

Recent blockades of the Oldham factory have also involved local residents alongside Palestine Action activists. 

Members of the Oldham Peace and Justice Campaign group joined the latest blockade there, bringing more people into the struggle. Blockades of the Oldham factory are now planned weekly.

“We encourage people to join us in direct action against Elbit and show solidarity,” said Ammori. “The people of Gaza need action, not words.”

Ethan, on the roof of the Leicester factory, said on Thursday: “We could see a few at the gates on Wednesday. Later on there were about 100. And they stayed late, maybe until midnight.”

Ammori said that as well as producing drones for surveillance, and “bombing” protesters with tear gas canisters, the Elbit factory at Shenstone in Staffordshire produces components which play a more deadly part in the Israeli military’s operations.

“The engines that are made in Shenstone also fit drones made in Israel that can fire missiles,” she said.

“By direct action we can directly stop these weapons which are used to kill people in Gaza,” said Ammori. 

“That’s why the actions are so important. The longer we stay there the longer we disrupt the kill chain.”

The appalling situation in Palestine last week meant that the Leicester rooftop occupation attracted international attention, with coverage on broadcast networks in India, Russia, on the BBC, and with a visit scheduled by the Arabic TV network Al Jazeera.

In the longer term, Palestine Action wants to see Elbit forced out of Britain, whether by the government caving in to growing public pressure, which is unlikely, particularly under the present government, or by making the factories uneconomic through enforced closures, which is also a formidable challenge.

But there’s also an immediate and rewarding effect of the occupations, and one which kicked in within hours of news of the Leicester occupation being broadcast. It emerged on Palestine Action’s online site.

“We have had hundreds of comments,” said Ammori, “and a lot of them were from Gaza, from Palestine. We got an amazing response from people in Palestine. They are warmed by this.”

Some unions are committed to the struggle to help Palestine, and the Leicester occupation brought an example.

On Wednesday police called for fire service support at the factory. When crews arrived they were asked to help remove the occupiers. The firefighters refused and drove off.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has a longstanding commitment of support for the people of Palestine, and reiterated it in a national statement on Wednesday following the firefighters’ refusal to help remove the protesters.

“The firefighters were brilliant. It was true solidarity, like the Italian dockworkers,” said Ammori, referring to the refusal of Italian dockers this week to load ships with weapons destined for Israel.

In the 10 months since it was launched, Palestine Action has grown. Direct action groups have sprung up London, Norwich, the Midlands, Leicester, Cambridge, York and Glasgow.

There’s no formal structure, Ammori said, “We would encourage people to see what we are about and if they are interested in taking direct action then take action. If people want to form a group they can contact us at [email protected].”

Back on the roof of the Elbit factory in Leicester, “terrified” Ethan was preparing for another night in the tent with his three friends, well aware that police could arrive at any time to remove and arrest them, particularly late at night and in the early hours when even the hardiest supporters at the factory gates would have gone home.

Ethan says overcoming his initial fear was a big step in an act of direct action.

“It’s important to say we were all scared,” he said. “To be honest I didn’t believe I could do it, especially with the current ‘down’ on rights to protest.

“But that’s changed. We have shut Elbit down. We are not going away. And after Elbit we will be moving on to other things and playing our part.”

For the immediate future he asked for the support which has grown outside the factory gates to continue once the four are arrested.

“Please keep supporting us when we get arrested,” he said. “We definitely will be arrested. We knew that when we were getting into this.

“And take direct action. The numbers are on our side. I think public opinion has shifted dramatically. The London protest was the biggest since 2009. If we can convert that into direct action…

“People can do whatever they are comfortable with. Take the next step. You will amaze yourself at what you can do.

“By taking action we are taking responsibility for the UK’s involvement in Israel’s colonial project.”

He appealed for people to head for the factory gates in support whenever and wherever an Elbit occupation takes place, including Leicester.

Legal action by Elbit has hit Palestine Action’s ability to raise funds. Their appeals for financial support have been removed from fundraising sites such as Paypal, GoFundMe and Facebook. 

Palestine Action has set up its own fund-raising platform at palestineaction.org/donate.