A COALITION of over sixty peace and Palestine solidarity activists from across Wales form a peaceful picket at the QinetiQ-run MoD Aberporth base last week.

The action was in response to the call from protest group A15 Action for "a worldwide co-ordinated economic blockade on companies benefiting from and investing in the oppression and massacre in Palestine, and beyond".

Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ceredigion say UK taxpayers have contributed to "significant investment into the multi-national arms company QinetiQ as well as the Welsh Government-owned Parc Aberporth at West Wales Airport".

This, they maintain, allows various arms technology companies to benefit from the partnership between the two sites including Elbit Systems Ltd-owned, joint venture U-TacS who specialise in Unmanned Air Systems.

“U-TacS was specifically set up to develop the UK's Watchkeeper System in Aberporth and also provide staff for certain air operations at West Wales Airport,” said a spokesperson.

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“U-TacS regularly send drones to Israel from their factory in Leicester which has been successfully targeted by Palestine Action activists.

“The UK and Wales have held the door open to Elbit, allowing the biggest provider of arms to the Israel Defence Forces to operate here on our land and in our skies.

“The UK is very much directly complicit in the violence we see being enacted on the Palestinian people.

“Despite the United Nations calling for a cease to all arms exports to Israel, our governments continue to give the green light to these arms companies and continue to enable and support these relationships.

“Dismantling these relationships and stopping these companies from operating economically here is key to ending the Welsh Government’s and UK's complicity in the op-pression and massacres committed by Israel in Palestine.”

A spokesperson for QinetiQ said: "The safety and wellbeing of our employees is important to us. We therefore closed the site and advised our staff to work from home whilst the protest was taking place. The site later reopened.

"QinetiQ does not provide weapons to Israel and our thoughts are with all those affected by the conflict in Gaza. 

"Parc Aberporth is owned by the Welsh Assembly Government and the associated West Wales Airfield is privately owned, therefore neither form part of MOD Aberporth. QinetiQ has no business at Parc Aberporth or West Wales Airfield."