All the windows at the Barclays Bank branch in central Bristol have been smashed and graffiti sprayed over them in a coordinated attack by a group targeting the bank.
Palestine Action said its activists smashed the windows of the bank in Broadmead, along with Barclays branches across the country, from Glasgow to Brighton. The group, which has been active in Bristol and has focused on the city’s arms industry’s links with Israel, said it has taken action to demand the bank ‘withdraw from the Israeli arms trade and fossil fuels’.
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Palestine Action has organized direct action blockades against companies such as Elbit Systems, an Israeli-owned arms company which has its UK base in Aztec West on the outskirts of Bristol, and campaigners have held regular protests in the city center over the past year. at companies and stores that they say have ties to Israel.
But the overnight action is an escalation of attacks on Barclays in particular, with police now investigating criminal damage. A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: “Barclays is funding the crises of climate collapse and genocide in Palestine.
“Decades of polite campaigning, petitioning, letter writing and lobbying MPs have failed. We will continue to escalate until Barclays pulls its finger and stops funding genocide and climate destruction,” she added.
Between smashed windows, activists spray-painted the names of Palestinians killed in the Israeli military action in Gaza on the walls of the Barclays branch.
A Barclays spokesperson said: “We provide essential financial services to US, UK and European government companies that supply defense products to NATO and its allies. Barclays does not invest directly in these companies.
“The defense sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK Government has made it clear that supporting defense companies is compatible with ESG considerations. Decisions on the implementation of arms embargoes against other countries are the responsibility of the respective elected governments,” the spokesperson added.
“While we support the right to protest, we ask that campaigners do so in a way that respects our customers, colleagues and property,” the Barclays spokesperson said.
The Palestine Action group said it recently “collaborated” with a group called Shut The System, an “underground climate movement,” and said it did so to “master this national campaign of targeted property damage.”
“Palestine Action aims to stop the Palestinian genocide by undermining suppliers of weapons to the Israeli military, including Elbit Systems, along with financial companies involved with these weapons suppliers,” a spokesperson said. “Shut the System targets banks and insurance companies that enable the expansion of fossil fuels.
“Both groups have adopted radical direct action tactics, including sabotage of key infrastructure to physically prevent continued support for destructive and deadly corporate activities. The collaboration between the groups is intended to maximize effectiveness,” she added.
At the end of April, Avon and Somerset Police arrested nine people from Palestine Action on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage. Police are now investigating this latest attack.