PALESTINE supporters staged a die-in outside Cornwall Council offices today to demand that the authority withdraw pension investments that support Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.

Activists from Palestine Solidarity Cornwall (PSC) discovered that pension funds are being managed by a consortium that invests in firms producing components and weapons for the Israeli military.

Funds have also been invested in companies illegally sited in occupied Palestine, as well as banks that invest in arms firms. 

An anonymous worker with money invested in the pension scheme said: “Public-sector workers investing in genocide via their pension funds is grotesque. 

“Investment in weapons is also a racist policy, with Western weapons disproportionately targeting and harming brown and black bodies. We must disinvest from arms. Public-sector workers like myself do not wish to be complicit in genocide.”

A spokesperson for PSC said: “Cornwall Council claims to be a responsible investor. But our research shows this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“Public-sector employees don’t want to be complicit in genocide, and they don’t want to see their pension funds invested in arms companies that profit from death and destruction. 

“Our questions were brushed over at the last council meeting so we are escalating our protest by forcing councillors to walk over protesters staging a die-in outside. 

“We will not be ignored and will keep putting pressure on this council until they divest from companies supporting Israel’s genocide.”