UK Protesters Arrested After Occupying Factory Supplying IDF Drone Engines

The nine UK protesters occupying a factory that supplies drone engines to the Israel Defense Forces were all arrested on the roof of the building on Wednesday evening after remaining on top of it for over 36 hours in a standoff with local police and successfully shutting the factory down during that time.

It’s not clear what prompted the arrests, as police had previously vowed to find a “peaceful resolution” to the standoff.

The group London Palestine Action chained the factory gates shut and chained themselves to the roof of the UAV Engines Limited factory in Shenstone, England, around 5 a.m. Tuesday, saying they had enough food to stay a week.

The Staffordshire police arrived on the scene around 5:20 a.m., shut down access to the road and issued a statement saying that “Officers are in attendance to ensure the protest remains peaceful and safe and we are working closely with the business and the protestors.”

A number of emergency response vehicles showed up, and police in a cherry-picker tried to engage the protesters in conversation.

The protest gained traction on social media throughout the day, and had garnered international news coverage from a number of outlets by Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday morning the group sent out a tweet showing an activist locked to the door of the building.