UK Court Convicts Four Palestine Action Members for Break-In at Israeli Firm
Al Jazeera Staff
On April 15, a UK court convicted four Palestine Action members for breaking into and vandalizing an Israeli defense company’s plant in Bristol, causing about £1 million in damages. Two other members were acquitted. The activists admitted destroying drones and military equipment.
London’s Woolwich Crown Court on April 15 found four of six pro-Palestinian activists guilty of criminal damage related to a break-in at an Israeli defense company’s facility in Bristol in August 2024.
Those convicted are Charlotte Head (30), Samuel Corner (23), Leona Kamio (30), and Fatema Zainab Rajwani (21). Two other defendants, Zoe Rogers (22) and Jordan Devlin (31), were acquitted.
According to the indictment, the six defendants—members of the Palestine Action group, which is banned in the UK—carried out the raid on Elbit Systems UK’s site in Bristol. The incident occurred about ten months after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
The group was listed as a terrorist organization by UK authorities in July 2025, but the High Court in London later ruled that decision unlawful. However, the ban remains in effect while the government appeals.
Prosecutors said the break-in caused damages of about £1 million ($1.36 million). Samuel Corner was also convicted of grievous bodily harm for striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
During the trial, the defendants admitted destroying Israeli drones and military equipment at Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton, Bristol. Defense lawyers said their clients acted to “save lives in Palestine.”
The April 15 verdict followed an earlier trial in which all six defendants were acquitted of organized theft, and the jury could not reach a verdict on criminal damage. Prosecutors later dropped charges of violent disorder against all six.
Elbit Systems is a defense technology company with about 20,000 employees and $2 billion in revenue, according to its website.
