PALESTINE activists welcomed a decision by Barclays today to sell all its shareholding in Elbit Systems Ltd following more than a year of protests against the bank.

Barclays now owns zero shares in the weapons systems company, down from 16,345 in May — worth more than £2.6 million.

The bank has seen 54 targeted protests by Palestine Action across Britain in the past year, with activists smashing windows and spraying them in blood-red paint to raise the costs it faces for dealing with Elbit.