Activists Destroy Military Equipment at ‘Death Factory Supplying Israel’

Activists opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza broke into a factory in Tring, Hertfordshire, on Monday morning, before smashing equipment there with hammers. 

Three members of the group People Against Genocide (PAG) were arrested after the break-in at the facility, which is owned by military technology firm Ultra Intelligence & Communications (I&C).

The activists say Ultra I&C is a key supplier of UAV Tactical Systems, which is owned by Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. Novara Media contacted Ultra I&C for comment but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

Ultra I&C makes military satellite and cybersecurity technology. Video posted by PAG on social media showed people destroying what appeared to be large parabolic antennas.   

Monday’s break-in was timed to coincide with the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a statement issued by the British government in 1917 that is widely seen as laying the foundation for the colonisation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. 

“Not only did the British government sign away a country that was not theirs to give, they have continued to assist in the Zionist occupation of Palestine, and in the murder of its native population, right up to the present day,” the group said in a statement. “Chief among the other foreign actors actively assisting the genocide is, of course, Britain’s unruly offspring, the US, where Ultra I&C is headquartered.”

It added: “By shutting down the Tring death factory today, and dismantling the weapons inside, our action-takers are aiming to save lives in Palestine, and uphold international law. 

“The Labour governments of both Burnham and Starmer have not only failed to do anything to stop the genocide, abandoning their commitments to international law, and to simple human decency, they have actively assisted the Israeli military with spy flights and arms shipments.”

The group has targeted Ultra I&C on several occasions. During a previous raid on the Tring facility on 9 July, its activists allegedly caused £1.3m of damage. Its members have also staged actions at sites in Cambridge, Aberdeen and Maidenhead this year.