A pro-Palestine group have targeted a group of banks in Manchester city centre.
Palestine Action targeted three sites in Manchester overnight, attacking two Barclays branches and BNY Mellon.
The group, who have previously targeted branches in London, accuse Barclays and BNY Mellon of investing in Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems.
Barclays has previously denied these claims, saying it does not invest its own money in companies because it is not an investor and instead trades shares of listed companies for clients.
The Barclays branch was targeted overnight
Palestine Action
A spokesperson from Palestine Action said: “Activists from Palestine Action drenched the Manchester offices of Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon in red paint, to symbolise the bank’s complicity in Palestinian bloodshed. They also sprayed a message calling for Elbit to be shut down.
“BNY Mellon invest over £10million in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, who provide 85 per cent of Israel’s military drone fleet and land based equipment, as well as missiles, bullets and other weaponry.”
A Barclays spokesperson said: “First and most importantly, we recognise the profound human suffering caused by this conflict. This is an exceptionally complex and long-running conflict, and we urge governments and the international community to work together to find a lasting, peaceful solution.
“We have been asked why we invest in nine defence companies supplying Israel, but this mistakes what we do. We trade in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand and that may result in us holding shares. We are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a ‘shareholder’ or ‘investor’ in that sense in relation to these companies.”
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A group of activists claimed to target tine internet at Leonardo
Palestine Action
GB News has approached Greater Manchester Police and BNY Mellon for comment.
Earlier this week, activists from Palestine Action Scotland damaged the internet cables of Edinburgh’s Leonardo factory and sprayed red paint over their fighter jet model displays.
In the early hours of Tuesday 28th May, a group opened the box of cables, cut the internet wires, sprayed expanding foam inside the box and spray painted ‘Stop Arming Israel’ on the lid.
Leonardo has been approached for a comment.
The Israeli military said troops had today ended operations in eastern Jabaliya in the northern section of the Gaza strip, having destroyed 10 kilometres of tunnels and several weapons production sites in days of fighting that included more than 200 air strikes.
During the operation in the heavily built up area, the troops also located the bodies of seven hostages.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and land war across all of Gaza, with 53 of those killed in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run enclave’s health ministry said.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killed 1,200 people and abducted more than 250, according to Israeli tallies.