London arms fair faces huge demonstrations due to Israeli presence

Rallies expected after hundreds arrested during Palestine Action protests at weekend

Israeli defence technology company Elbit Systems' exhibits at an arms fair. AFP

Protests are expected at an arms fair in London where three major Israeli arms manufacturers are due to attend.

The planned demonstrations come after the arrests of about 900 supporters of Palestine Action on Saturday, a group proscribed by the British government after attacks on defence sites in the UK.

Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries are among 51 Israeli companies who will be attending the Defence and Security Equipment International event, which runs from Tuesday to Friday.

It is clear our government will not do anything that disrupts the profits of arms dealers

Emily Apple,
Campaign Against the Arms Trade

No official Israeli government delegation was invited to this year's event as a result of the war in Gaza, the UK said last month. But among those present will be Lockheed Martin, the US manufacturers of the F-35 fighter jet used by the Israeli military to attack Gaza.

The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (Caat) and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign groups have said they will stage protests at the Excel London conference centre in the docklands area of East London. They say up to 1,000 demonstrators are expected.

Caat’s media co-ordinator, Emily Apple, accused the UK government of “peak complicity in genocide” by allowing Israeli companies to attend the fair who “should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused in Gaza”.

“These are the arms companies arming the Israeli military. It is clear that our government will not do anything that disrupts the profits of arms dealers.

"It is therefore down to campaigners across the country coming together to take action to uphold international law on the streets of east London,” Ms Apple said.

Palestine Action has targeted Elbit Systems sites in the UK and one of those, in Bristol, south-west England, appears to have closed unexpectedly. The activist group was banned in July after its members caused £7 million ($9.4 million) of damage to two military planes.

A Palestine Action supporter is arrested at a demonstration in London. Getty Images

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square, central London, to express support for Palestine Action, calling for the terrorism ban to be overturned.

The Met Police said 890 arrests were made, most for supporting a proscribed group, which is an offence under Britain's Terrorism Act.

Others were detained over alleged assaults on police officers and other public order offences, said the force.

The law carries the threat of a six-month prison sentence for those found to have been showing support for Palestine Action. More than 500 people were arrested at a similar demonstration in August.