People Against Genocide occupies Martin-Baker factory roof

At approximately 5am on 24 August, a group of activists from People Against Genocide (PAG) scaled the roof of the Martin-Baker factory at Lower Rd, Denham, Uxbridge. After occupying the roof, and shutting down the factory, they poured red paint and began damaging the factory.

Martin-Baker specialises in aircraft ejection seats. It manufactures them for the Israeli Air Force’s T-6 training fleet, as well as F-35 fighter jets. Without these ejection seats, F-35 fighter jets couldn’t operate over Gaza.

It has continued to export these components to the IAF despite supposed restrictions on arms sales to the Israeli military. The Labour government announced the restrictions nearly 2 years ago, on 2 September 2024.

A November 2024 report by Declassified and Irish news site The Ditch highlighted cargo documents showing how Martin-Baker sent deliveries to an Elbit Systems factory in Karmiel, a city built on expropriated Palestinian land in the early 1960’s.

Elbit Systems, which also has factories in the UK, is the Israeli military’s biggest weapons supplier, and has the contract for maintaining the IAF T-6 training fleet. Elbit supplies 85% of the Israeli military’s killer drone fleet, and 80% of their land-based equipment.

A spokesperson for People Against Genocide said:

Weapons companies like Martin-Baker are openly providing necessary components for Israeli fighter jets to be able to operate over the skies of Gaza, to commit genocide against the Palestinian people.

Despite Andy Burnham saying Labour “got it wrong” on Gaza, he has done nothing to stop Britain’s role in the ongoing massacres of Palestinians.

That’s why it is up to ordinary people against genocide to do it ourselves, by taking direct action to prevent the export of the components needed to commit war crimes and enable the ongoing colonisation of Palestine.

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Martin-Baker launders its image by claiming its ejection seats “save lives”. However, without these seats, Israel’s bombing would come to an immediate halt, as they can’t operate their deadly fighter jets without them.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians would not have been murdered, and the ongoing genocide would stop immediately. They do not save lives, they enable the mass murder of people in Palestine, Lebanon and across West Asia.

Featured image supplied

By The Canary

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