On May Day, more than 1,000 workers protest UK's continuing arms sales to Israel

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - More than a thousand workers across the UK staged demonstrations on May Day to call for an end to arms sales to Israel.

Workers blockaded the UK Trade Department in London and BAE Systems’ arms factories in Scotland, Wales and Lancashire.

In London, the protesters demanded that the government revoke arms export licenses to Israel in the face of a crippling situation in Gaza, where more than 34,500 people have been killed since Oct. 7.

On Tuesday, Andrew Mitchell, minister for international development and Africa, said that Foreign Secretary David Cameron has reviewed the most recent advice on the arms supply issue, adding that the country's position on this remained unchanged but the country will keep its position under review.

During protests outside BAE Systems' arms factories in Scotland, Wales and Lancashire, the demonstrators also condemned the arms sales to Israel.

Separately, members of the Palestine Action group early Wednesday targeted the Manchester office of both Barclays and BNY Mellon banks, accusing them of investing in Elbit Systems.

Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, supplies 85% of the land and air munitions used by its military.

"We will not tolerate genocide profiteers on our streets," the group wrote on X, sharing a video from the protest.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7, which killed some 1,200 people.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands of others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel also stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.