Elbit Systems is often the target of campaigns by human rights groups. The Israeli firm produces surveillance technology for the illegal Separation Wall in the occupied West Bank and is said to manufacture the engines for 85 per cent of the country s military drones, among other weapons components.
The Israeli arms manufacturer is said to have supplied 85 per cent of the drones used in the war on Gaza in 2014, when over 2,200 Palestinians – 500 of them children – were killed in only 50 days. The Israeli arms company has ten sites across Britain.
Greater awareness of Elbit s role in human rights violations and alleged war crimes has tarnished the company s image. In February, East Sussex Pension Fund was the latest to divest from Israeli firms months after human rights activists lobbied the fund to bring an end to its ties to companies which violate international law.
Israel sells surveillance drones to unnamed East Asian country
Elbit Systems, Israeli surveillance software, 6 December 2017 [Tangopaso/Wikipedia] March 2, 2021 at 2:06 pm
In another sign of Israel s indispensability to the global arms industry, controversial weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems defeated its competitor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to win a lucrative tender to supply unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to an unnamed East Asian country. Elbit will provide the country with dozens of Hermes 900 UAVs in a deal valued at roughly $300 million according to the company s website.
The purchasing country s air force is said to be already operating the smaller Hermes 450 aircraft and is seeking to expand on its reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities, Israeli news site Calcalist reported.
By Susanna Rust2021-02-22T16:38:00+00:00
East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) has denied that its exit from an Israeli military technology company was due to a campaign by local activists, and said it was instead due to a portfolio shift towards impact equity and ESG-tilted index funds.
Palestine Solidary Campaign (PSC) last week claimed victory in a long-running lobbying campaign by scheme members and Palestinian human rights campaigners.
An Israel-based company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, Elbit Systems describes itself an international high technology company engaged in a wide range of programmes, primarily in defense and homeland security. PSC alleges the firm’s products, such as drones, are used to oppress the civilian Palestinian population.
UK pension fund divests from Israel arms manufacturer
Protest calling to stop supplying arms to the Israeli military in London, UK [Palestine Solidarity Campaign] February 12, 2021 at 3:00 pm
East Sussex Pension Fund has divested from Israel s largest private arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, months after human rights activists lobbied the fund to bring an end to its ties to companies which violate international law.
Since May 2020, campaigners have flooded council meetings with over 60 letters demanding the fund divests from Elbit, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said in a statement today.
Elbit Systems is Israel s largest private arms manufacturer and has produces a range of weaponry deployed by the Israeli occupation forces to murder or maim Palestinians including drones used during the 2014 war on Gaza.