6 anti-Israel activists stand trial in UK for breaking into Elbit site

Six people accused of breaking into an Israel-based defense firm’s UK site last year and causing more than £1 million ($1.3m) of damage with sledgehammers appeared in a UK court on Monday.

A group of around two dozen protesters, holding banners and Palestinian flags, gathered at the gates leading to Woolwich Crown Court, with their shouts of “Free Palestine” audible inside the courtroom ahead of the start of the trial.

The six are accused of being part of a group of people, linked to the now-proscribed “Palestine Action” organization, who committed aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder at the premises of the Israel-based firm Elbit Systems in the western English city of Bristol on August 6, 2024, court documents showed.

Samuel Corner, Jordan Devlin, Charlotte Head, Leona Kamio, Fatema Zainab Rajwani and Zoe Rogers arrived shortly after 11:00am (1100 GMT) for the trial, which is expected to last 10 weeks.

Corner is also accused of a separate offense, causing grievous bodily harm to a police officer with intent during the incident.

The six sat in a line in the dock and exchanged glances, waves and smiles with relatives and friends in the public gallery, some of whom wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves.

According to the court’s indictment document, the accused entered the premises of Elbit Systems in August 2024 with the intent to do unlawful damage, carrying “weapons of offense, namely sledgehammers,” destroyed or damaged property, and used or threatened unlawful violence when present together with others.

On Monday, the court went through some pre-trial administrative procedures, with jury selection due to take place in the afternoon.

Elbit Systems is a “global defense technology company” with around 20,000 staff and revenues of $2 billion, according to the firm’s official website.