Jurors have begun deliberations in the trial of the ‘Elbit eight’, a group of activists with Palestine Action accused of offences relating to the shutdown of UK operations by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms producer.
The eight have been on trial for four weeks at Snaresbrook Crown Court in north-east London. They do not deny the charges of burglary, criminal damage, encouraging offences of criminal damage, possessing articles with intent to cause criminal damage, and threatening to damage property belonging to Jones Lang LaSalle – a company that provides services in relation to one of Elbit’s UK sites – but they have argued that they were lawfully justified in their actions.
Over the past month, jurors have heard how the activists, in the years 2020 to 2021, deployed tactics such as rooftop occupations, window smashing, and spray painting to force Elbit out of the UK and cease the production of lethal weapons used against Palestinian civilians.
