Two more detained over attack on Czech drone maker accused of making arms for Israel

Both new suspects in March 20 arson at factory used by LPP Holding identified as foreigners; firm, which supplies Ukraine, denies collaboration with Israel’s Elbit came to fruition

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Authorities detained two more people in connection with the arson attack on a Czech optics and drone factory last month, Czech police and a public prosecutor’s office said on Saturday.

A previously unknown pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activist group calling itself the Earthquake Faction has claimed responsibility for the March 20 fire at an industrial complex in Pardubice, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Prague.

Czech authorities have previously announced five detentions, including those of an Egyptian and a US citizen, since the fire that targeted a building used by the Czech defense group LPP Holding.

Polish prosecutors said on Wednesday that two Polish citizens were also detained in connection with the case.

Czech police and prosecutors said another person was detained on Saturday. A further individual was also detained in Bulgaria on Friday and police said their extradition will be requested. Both were foreign nationals, Czech authorities said

The group that claimed responsibility for the attack has said in a statement online that the targeted company was developing weapons for Israel.

LPP Holding had previously said it planned to open a center to develop and produce drones and train personnel in cooperation with Israeli Elbit Systems, a military technology company, in 2023, but these plans were never implemented.

Illustrative: Activists from the Palestine Action group protest at the gates of a factory owned by Ferranti, a British subsidiary of Elbit Systems, in England on February 1, 2021. (Paul Ellis/AFP)

LPP’s production includes drones that are exported to Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian forces since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion.

Over the past two years, Elbit has been inking contracts with global customers even as pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protesters have assailed the firm, negative sentiment toward Israel has been growing, and arms embargoes have been floated over Israel’s conduct during the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

In 2024, a 13-year-old boy, instructed and armed by others, opened fire on Elbit’s Swedish office, and explosives were planted there in the same year.

The Palestine Action group was also charged with breaking into Elbit’s British factory in 2024. Some eight months later, in June 2025, Palestine Action activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two planes, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage. The following month, Britain proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, making it a crime to be a member.