Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Palestine Action use drone to fly flag over Twickenham
A drone carrying the flag of Palestine flies over Twickenham Stadium, London, during the Men’s Six Nations match between England and Italy, March 9, 2025

SUNDAY saw England play against Italy at the Allianz-sponsored Twickenham Stadium, in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. In the 67th-minute of the match, a Palestine Action drone appeared above the stadium flying the Palestine flag.

Unlike the Elbit drones used to kill and maim Palestinians, Palestine Action’s drone came in peace but with a message: for stadium owners Allianz, Elbit’s insurers — demanding Allianz stop insuring Elbit.

Elbit Systems, Israel's biggest weapons producer, provides 85 per cent of Israel’s killer drone fleet and land-based equipment, as well as missiles, munitions and digital warfare. Elbit’s quadcopter drones are routinely used to massacre Palestinians in Gaza. Dr Nazim Mamode recalled in Parliament how such drones are used to commit war crimes in Gaza: “What I found particularly disturbing was that a bomb would drop, maybe on a crowded tented area, and then the drones would come down and pick off civilians, children.”

He went on to explain how he routinely operated on children who would say “I was lying on the ground after a bomb had dropped and this quadcopter came down and hovered over me and shot me.”

Elbit’s business model relies on using Palestinians as test-subjects for their latest weaponry, which is often marketed as “battle-tested” as a result. By providing the legally required “employers liability” insurance for Elbit to operate in Britain, Allianz is directly facilitating the production of Israeli weapons.

Palestine Action’s direct action campaign is focused on shutting down Israeli weapons factories on British soil and targets those who facilitate the deadly trade, including Elbit’s insurers Allianz. The group has already targeted dozens of Allianz’s offices across Britain and Europe, forcing them to temporarily close on several occasions. 

Similar Palestine Action campaigns have resulted in several companies ending their association with Elbit, such as Barclays, lobby firm APCO and shipping giant Kuehne+Nagel.

A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “Without the insurance provided by Allianz, Elbit could not build Israeli weapons in Britain which are tested on Palestinians. The military killer drones made by Elbit come to kill and maim Palestinians, however our drone came with a simple message: Allianz must drop Elbit.”

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Palestine action activists
Britain / 16 March 2025
16 March 2025
MOVING SCENES: Displaced Palestinians return to their homes
Features / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
As Gazans return to the ruins of their homes, their chants and songs and moving spirit of defiance point the way to a new Palestinian future, by and of the people, writes RAMZY BAROUD
PAST AND
PRESENT: Jimmy
Carter (right) and
Donald Trump
Features / 6 January 2025
6 January 2025
With a struggling economy, the US is facing a hard choice between ‘guns or butter.’ MEDEA BENJAMIN and NICHOLAS JS DAVIES see the signs that the incoming president will opt for the former