The defendants damaged equipment at Elbit’s factory in Bristol, suspecting it was supplying the Israeli military with arms used in the Gaza war
A British court has convicted four members of the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action over a 2024 raid on an Israeli-linked defense facility in Bristol, which they suspected was supplying the Israeli military with arms. The case has caused debate over the UK’s role in Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which led to widespread destruction and thousands of civilian casualties.
The defendants drove a decommissioned prison van through the gates of Elbit’s Filton facility on August 6, 2024, and used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones, and other equipment, while clashing with security and police. The activists, who said they had acted to “save lives in Palestine,” caused an estimated £1 million ($1.36 million) in damage.
Their lawyers said all six defendants admitted to the destruction, but denied criminal damage, telling the jury they aimed to “dismantle drones and weaponry” they believed would be used to kill civilians in Gaza.
🇬🇧 Palestine Action activists to face retrial over UK Elbit factory raid
Six British anti-Israel, pro-“palestinian” activists will be retried over a 2024 raid on Israeli defense firm Elbit’s UK factory that prosecutors say caused about £1 million ($1.4 million) in damage. pic.twitter.com/Gk8nzXJZX3
The verdict was announced by Woolwich Crown Court, southeast London, on Tuesday. Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, were found guilty of criminal damage; Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were acquitted. The four convicted face sentencing on June 12.
Corner was separately convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Sgt. Kate Evans. The prosecution said that the accused struck the officer in the back with a sledgehammer, fracturing her spine. Evans said she was off work for three months and remains on restricted duties more than 20 months later.
Corner, however, told the jury he attacked the officer while in a panic after being pepper-sprayed, and acted to protect a colleague he believed was being seriously hurt. He also stressed that violence during the raid was not pre-planned.
The jury – which deliberated on the verdict for more than 14 hours – subsequently cleared him of the more serious charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, capping his maximum term at five years rather than a life sentence. The maximum sentence for the other convicts is capped at ten years, but is typically much lower for first-time offenders.
Elbit Systems, which operates more than a dozen sites across the UK, has consistently denied manufacturing or exporting weapons to the Israeli military. However, media reports have claimed that components produced by UK-based Elbit subsidiaries have been used by the Israel Defense Forces.
The Filton break-in was among the events that led the British government to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organization in 2025. In February 2026, London’s High Court ruled the ban unlawful, though the designation remains in force pending final judgment.
