PALESTINE ACTION targeted an Israeli-state owned weapons factory in Newcastle today.

Activists used a specially adapted vehicle to block the entrances to the Rafael-owned weapons plant.

Others climbed on top of the security box and covered the premises in red paint to signify the blood of the Palestinians.

Rafael, which is Israel’s third biggest weapons firm, acquired Pearson Engineering based at Armstrong Works in Newcastle in September 2022. 

The site specialises in producing armoured military vehicles and tanks, including armoured bulldozers and “robotic combat vehicles,” the activists say.

A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: “The Israeli government owning a weapons factory in Newcastle is a stain on the whole community.

“The Israeli death machine has to be stopped, and with the British government entirely complicit in the genocide, it is up to ordinary people to do their part to halt the manufacture of Israeli weapons here. 

“We put Rafael on notice that we will shut them down at every opportunity. Each hour of production lost means less lives taken.”