Do not be turned from the righteous path, direct action will vindicate the prisoners.
This article was first written after HSBC had divested 95% of its shares in Elbit Systems. We have now learnt HSBC has fully cut ties with the genocidal firm, after sustained direct action against them.
In a recent interview, British-Iraqi rapper and activist Lowkey analysed the victories won by direct action groups, specifically Palestine Action, in recent years. Spotlighting the fact that 4 Elbit Systems sites have been permanently shut in the UK after ordinary people sabotaged them again and again, something that has not been seen anywhere else in the Western world, Lowkey reflected that “people need to actually study how that happened.”
In the context of increasingly intensified political repression in Britain as well as a Zionist attempt to globalise the Gaza genocide into wars of aggression against Iran and Lebanon, understanding how meaningful victories have been (and can be) achieved is vital. A moment of heightened state efforts to limit popular unrest, in this case in the form of arrests, home raids, and the quotidian use of counter-terrorism powers, risks being followed by an attempt of co-opting and watering down grassroots resistance. The mass mobilisation firstly in support of the 8 defiant Palestine Action hunger strikers and, more recently, in disgust at the blatant lies of the establishment as American weapons are allowed access to British bases on UK soil and abroad, has been able to recharge the streets with the energy of dissent. Amongst the many powerful chants heard protest after protest, one has never ceased to be heard: “Take action!”
But while ‘direct action’ has become a household word, not everyone that declares support for this tactic could point to truthful examples representing it. Hence, we must hold a clear understanding of what direct action is – and how it is the most tangible, effective tool to dismantle the enemy.
We could look at historic successful campaigns such as that of the Raytheon 9, who kicked Raytheon out of Derry after breaking into its offices and smashing equipment to pieces. Or we could look at all the victories achieved in under 5 years by Palestine Action, a group currently banned in the UK (a ban deemed unlawful by the High Court) not despite but because of its success rate. But what would be the point of commemorating campaigns of the past when direct action is alive and well in this colonial genocide-enabling country today? The action that on the 24th of April saw 6 ordinary people evading security, occupying the rooftop, making a hole and abseilling into the clean room of the Leicester site of Elbit Systems despite the firm investing in higher security is one clear testimony of this statement. There is no better way to understand what direct action is than by looking at recent actions.
By examining these efforts, and their subsequent victories, we are naturally bound to look at the hunger strikers who from November 2025 to January 2026, under the banner of Prisoners for Palestine, undertook the longest collective hunger strike in British prisons in recent memory.
Responding to the hunger strikers – 1st victory
When the 5 demands of the hunger strikers were delivered over writing to the Home Office at the end of October 2025, it immediately became clear that these demands were directed towards the government as much as to the consciousness of ordinary people. At a time where the news from Gaza was further silenced by the mainstream media of the establishment with the facade of a fake ceasefire, the prisoners reminded us repeatedly of the urgency to act. ‘Shut Elbit Down’ was 5th in the list of demands, although it was highlighted as the most important one to the strikers. In true spirit of direct action, the prisoners responded to the government’s lack of response to their demands by taking justice into their own hands, and began their hunger strike. On the 2nd of November 2025, Qesser Zuhrah, the first to commence refusing food together with Amu Gib, delivered a steadfast statement quoting the words of martyred Palestinian Journalist Anas Al-Sharif, urging everyone to:
“‘not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you’, and join us in pursuit of justice by Resisting the war machine in any and every capacity you can! Because ‘Whoever does Righteousness, it is from his own soul; and whoever does evil does so against it’ (Quran 41:46). So, from your Prisoners to you: Shut Elbit Down!”
She reminded us all that we, too, must take justice into our own hands and halt the weapons from being produced and delivered to further assist Zionist crimes.
Around the same time the collective hunger strike had begun, and increasingly so after, focused and sustained actions started to ramp up across the country. Various direct action groups such as People Against Genocide, Dismantle, and other autonomous groups, hit offices, financial hubs, and weapons factories with a pattern that soon became very clear: all targeted companies, ranging from Keysight Technologies to Edwards Accountants, were working with Elbit Systems.
Elbit Systems is the biggest Israeli weapons manufacturer, recently described by the Zionist state as its ”most valuable asset”. In the words of Heba Muraisi, the longest Prisoners for Palestine hunger striker, Elbit Systems is “the enemy’s main force […] here in the UK”. The literal manifestation of the Zionist entity in our cities.
Answering the call of the hunger strikers, ordinary people smashed windows, occupied rooftops, or spray painted walls of complicit sites. This new wave of actions demonstrated that a strategic diversity of tactics not only allows for people to take the action that is suitable for them, but keeps the enemy wondering what will come next. Only a few weeks into the hunger strike, it was announced that Edwards Accountants completely cut ties with Elbit, ceasing to be their accountants and auditors. It was direct action that forced a long lasting partnership with genocide to end.
This was the first of the numerous rapid victories that followed.
Focused and sustained – 2nd victory
In the second month of the hunger strike, at a time of state-sanctioned Christmas holiday alienation and distraction, the prisoners continued their action and reminded us that to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people is to be steadfast. Direct actions had increased in frequency and scale; as an example, 11 HSBC branches were hit across the country in one single night – and the hunger strike called for these actions not to stop or decrease, but to escalate. Lewie Chiaramello, one of the 8 strikers, said it clearly: “Why must we wait for history to vindicate us? If you believe you are witnessing a genocide, act like it.”
That same month, on the 23rd of December, it was announced that both Allianz and Aviva had ceased to insure Elbit Systems. It was not history that vindicated the prisoners, but continuous direct action efforts. Efforts proved sustained and focused by the action that followed on that same date, targeting the new Elbit insurers Aspen. This action proved the people will not stop tracking the genocidal supply chain, and most importantly, will continue to hit it until Elbit Systems has no partners left in Britain.
It quickly became clear that, despite the ban on Palestine Action, the strategy of focused and sustained direct action has continued relentlessly. It is perhaps exactly this, the fact that banning an organisation has not stopped ordinary people from acting strategically with their conscience, that has led to a rapid domino effect of contract termination across all companies working with the Zionist representation in Britain.
In his interview, Lowkey invites us to see the physical supply line of weapons that starts in our neighbourhoods not as a manifestation of power, but rather as vulnerabilities of the Zionist entity and its British ally. To be focused means to recognize that having Elbit Systems present on our doorsteps is an opportunity to strike it, as Palestinians would if those factories were in their towns. To be sustained means to strike it again and again: because if they occupy our cities, we will occupy their buildings until they are gone.
These principles were the reasons that have forced Edwards Accountants, Aviva and Allianz to stop collaborating with Elbit. Direct action showed these companies that in order to keep functioning financially and reputationally they must cut ties with the Zionist firm, or continue to receive the untanable loss in profits.
The hunger strikers were victorious – 3rd victory
The huge and constant mobilisation outside the prison walls and government offices that followed towards the end of the year, from around day 50 of the hunger strike and after multiple hospitalisations of the strikers, revived a sense of urgency to act that Britain, the Zionist state and all their allies had tried to suppress. People filled the streets night after night and supporters organised petitions and phone blockades to get the government to act to not let the hunger strikers die, a tactic that the hunger strikers themselves would have known to be futile as the British government is the orchestrator of the Zionist state’s existence and to this day, actively participates in its genocidal crimes. Nevertheless, it was this mobilisation that allowed for the prisoners’ calls to action to circulate amongst the masses and urge people to learn about direct action. Restless work from Prisoners for Palestine over that period moved people’s mere attendance at demonstrations to effective action aimed at halting the supply chain to Israel. In one of the repeated Zoom events held by Prisoners for Palestine at the beginning of the year, they quoted Cage’s report on the efficacy of direct action:
“Direct action groups and their supporters believe that when genocide and war crimes are taking place, the correct response is not quiet condemnation and legal appeals – it is interruption. The objective is not merely to ‘raise awareness’ but to tangibly disrupt the machinery of war, to increase the cost of participation, and to make it logistically and politically impossible for business as usual to continue.”
The prisoners were once again leading the way for those fighting for Palestinian freedom, reminding us not to just support their cause from the streets but to join them shoulder to shoulder in the front line against the imperial war machine.
On the 3rd month, on the 14th of January 2026, the hunger strikers declared victory after 73 days, an amount of days with no food that speaks itself to the level of steadfastness of the prisoners. Amongst various wins, the decisive one was the news that Elbit Systems had lost a bid for a £2billion military contract with the Ministry of Defence. Let us be clear, this victory could have not happened without the pressure of the hunger strikers and the numerous action takers who targeted Elbit and any firm working with them. By putting their bodies on the line, the hunger strikers were victorious. By putting their bodies on the line, the action takers made Elbit Systems lose a potential lifeline. Nowhere else had Elbit Systems lost 4 sites, and nowhere else had they lost contracts of such high value in under 3 months. The victory that brought the hunger strike to an end, following all its antecedents, speaks to the efficacy of focused, sustained and disruptive actions witnessed in Britain.
T Hoxha’s statement marking the end of her hunger strike further showed the weight direct actions had in supporting the prisoners and eventually leading them to victory:
“Today, after nearly 2 and a half months without food, we announce a pause in our collective hunger strike, victorious in the knowledge that people have been moved to take direct action, taking upon themselves the very idea we stand accused of.”
The victorious end of the hunger strike came as this strategy was only starting to grow. In the month of January, direct actions happened every other day on average. This was despite the facade of a ceasefire in Gaza and the British state’s attempt at silencing dissent by employing tactics of kidnapping and harassment.
Victory is promised – Elbit’s days are counted
It is an arduous but crucial task to recollect the victories that we have witnessed in such a short period of time. The past few months have only served to further testify to the statement that ”direct action gets the goods”. We have since learnt that Scotiabank has followed in fully cutting ties with Elbit Systems, and so has HSBC. All these milestones leave us wondering how many more we are about to witness.
It would also be impossible to make an account of the victories without mentioning the liberation of some of the Prisoners for Palestine in February, when 22 of the Filton24 and all defendants of the Moog 4 were liberated from prison, where they had been held on remand, a victory brought about by the very idea that anyone accused had always stood for justice, and will continue to do so and inspire others to join. Victory will always be on the side of those standing (with a sledgehammer in their hand) for freedom as, in the words of Omar El Akkad, “Whatever the empire is, it has no idea what to do with this kind of love.”
At the same time, all these victories are only steps in the pursuit of the liberation of Palestine, which we must never forget to be the goal, focus and inspiration of our struggle from within the belly of the beast. Upon her release from prison, Heba Muraisi gave a clear call to action to her supporters:
“This day is bittersweet, and the fight is far from over. Not until all factories have shut down. Not until all companies that are complicit have shut down. Not until all the prisoners in Palestine are home. Not until our comrades are back home. Not until all those who caused and aided in the suffering and bloodshed are held accountable. Not until Palestine is free.”
We are still waiting for the government’s appeal of the verdict that found the ban of Palestine Action unlawful. At the time of writing, the group remains a proscribed organisation. But asking the government for permission has never been the point, and sustained, focused and strategic direct action is continuing without pause. The examples given in this article are just some of the numerous actions witnessed over recent months. Ordinary people are embracing a strategy that not only is effective and tangible but is also varied and accessible, in the form of spray painting walls with a fire extinguisher, smashing windows with hammers, occupying rooftops and damaging sites where they are most strategically sensible, shutting down firms with just a lock on, or breaking into factories and dismantling their deadly tools. As Direct Action Trainings, we run sessions to inform people on the risks of taking direct action and allow everyone to decide what sacrifices they are willing to take to uphold international law and be a body between a bullet and a person in Palestine, Lebanon or Iran, and wherever Imperialism attempts to consolidate its power.
During his interview, Lowkey cited a beautiful quote saying: “If you don’t fight, you will definitely lose. But if you fight, you might win.”
We must not forget the other risk we might run into when deciding to put our body on the line: for Elbit Systems to be shut down for good.
If you want to see more victories tangibly disrupting the Zionist war machine from where we are, make them happen: sign up to a direct action training on our website to learn how (directactiontraining.org)