Barclays has sold its shares worth $3.4m in Israeli defence firm Elbit

The move follows a campaign by activists pressuring the bank to end its involvement with the defence company

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate against Barclays's purchase of Tesco Bank outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. EPA

Barclays has sold all its shares in Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer, according to the bank’s latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The London-headquartered bank's regulatory filing revealed it sold all its holdings – 16,345 shares worth more than $3.4 million – in Elbit, a company often criticised for its role in supplying the Israeli military.

Barclays did not disclose a reason for the sale. However, it follows a nearly year-long campaign by activist groups for the bank to end its involvement with the defence company.

UK-based Palestine Action claimed it had pressured Barclays to sell its shares in Elbit with more than 50 direct actions against bank branches, including smashing windows and painting premises red to highlight the alleged humanitarian impact of Elbit’s operations in Gaza.

Palestine protesters storm Barclays Bank in Manchester, UK

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“Through a focused strategy, direct action has achieved multiple successes and forced the hands of many complicit institutions,” a Palestine Action representative said on Thursday.

“We will remain committed and focused to the task at hand and target any and all institutions and businesses which enable Israel’s biggest weapons firm to maintain their genocidal operations. That means, if Barclays does reinvest into Elbit Systems in the future, Palestine Action will come knocking again.”

In a statement posted on its website, Barclays said: “We may hold shares [in Elbit] in relation to client-driven transactions, which is why we appear on the share register, but we are not investors.”

Barclays did not respond immediately to The National's request for comment.

Barclays accused of helping companies arming Israel

A May report found that Barclays has increased its financial ties with companies arming Israel.

“The bank now invests over £2 billion [$2.5 billion] in, and provides loans and underwriting worth £6.1 billion, to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians,” the Palestine Solidarity Campaign revealed in its report. PSC claimed Barclays invested £2.7 million in Elbit Systems.

In June, entertainment company Live Nation announced it was severing ties with Barclays, one of its major sponsors. The move came after some artists pulled out of events in protest at the bank's links to defence industry companies working with Israel. Barclays had signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Live Nation last year.

In May, Barclays' annual shareholders' meeting was disrupted by activists. The bank has previously said that it did not invest its own money in companies that supply weapons used by Israel in Gaza.