PRO-PALESTINE activists celebrated a major breakthrough for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement today after persuading their local council to divest from firms that profit from the bloodshed in Gaza.

A freedom of information request by Waltham Forest For a Free Palestine (WF4FP) found that the north-east London borough had invested £18.7 million of its pension fund in companies linked to the arms trade and human rights abuses in Palestine.

They include firms such as Ultra Electronics, a supplier of parts for Israel’s F-35 warplanes, the Albermarle Corporation, which is linked to the production of white phosphorus, and L3 Harris, which makes components for Israeli weapons.