LONDON: Nine people appeared in a London court on Friday to deny offenses including burglary, criminal damage, violent disorder and hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer, over an incident at a warehouse linked to Israeli defense firm Elbit.
The nine, who prosecutors have said were activists from the protest organization Palestine Action, are accused of smashing their way into the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August.
At a previous hearing, prosecutors said a repurposed prison van was used to smash through fencing before some of the group damaged items in the warehouse using sledgehammers.
Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court. All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds.
Seven of them also denied a charge of violent disorder, while one, Simon Corner, pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, for allegedly striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
Another nine people also charged with offenses over the incident appeared at Friday’s hearing but did not enter pleas.
The first trial involving eight of the defendants is due to start in November, with the others appearing at two subsequent trials. A hearing will also be held to determine whether the cases should be treated as a terrorism matter.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have repeatedly targeted Elbit Systems UK and other defense firms in Britain linked to Israel in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.
Palestine Action has said the targeted site was Elbit’s new 35 million-pound ($43 million) research and development hub. Elbit’s website says its UK subsidiary employs 680 people at 16 sites, working on multiple programs for the British military.
Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
https://arab.news/2gvgq
Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
- Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court
- All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds
Pakistan rules out talks with Afghanistan, says more than 330 Afghan fighters killed in operations
- Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally of Washington, while the US considers the Afghan Taliban a “terrorist” group
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ruled out talks with Afghanistan until there is an end to “terrorism” emanating from Afghan soil, officials said on Friday. The statement follows the killing of more than 330 Afghan fighters in cross-border skirmishes this week.
The latest clashes between the neighbors erupted after Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend triggered retaliatory attacks along the border on Thursday, escalating long‑simmering tensions over Pakistan’s claim that Afghanistan shelters Pakistani Taliban militants. Afghanistan denies this, saying Pakistan is deflecting blame for its own security failures.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said his country had killed 331 Afghan fighters, destroyed over 100 posts and targeted 37 military locations across Afghanistan. Afghan officials have said more than 50 Pakistani soldiers have been killed and several Pakistan posts captured. Neither casualty figures nor battlefield claims by either side could be independently verified.
Meanwhile, Mosharraf Zaidi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson for foreign media, ruled out any talks with Afghanistan until Kabul addresses the issue, while the US expressed support for what it called Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” against attacks from Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.
“There won’t be any talks, there is nothing to talk about ... Terrorism from Afghanistan has to end,” Zaidi told state-run Pakistan TV Digital, saying Islamabad would continue to target militant havens inside Afghanistan.
“Pakistan’s responsibility is to protect its citizens. If we know that there is a terrorist in point A and we know that there is a terrorist enabler at point A, we will find a weapon to land at point A and eliminate the threat.”
Zaidi said he did not expect Pakistan to deviate from this position: “We have clearly articulated what we are doing and what we plan on continuing to do and what it will take for us to stop doing what we are doing.”
He added: “And we will expect that both the international community and the regime in question, the Afghan Taliban, will come to their senses and will help reduce instability and disorder in this region.”
Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally of Washington, while the US considers the Afghan Taliban a “terrorist” group.
“The United States supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against attacks from the Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group,” Reuters quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying.
US diplomat Allison Hooker said on X she had spoken with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch on Friday.
The State Department spokesperson said Washington was aware of the escalation in tensions and “outbreak of fighting between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban,” adding the US was “saddened by the loss of life.”
“The Taliban have consistently failed to uphold their counterterrorism commitments,” it said. “Terrorist groups use Afghanistan as a launching pad for their heinous attacks.”
Meanwhile, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid called for talks to resolve the crisis.
“We have always emphasized peaceful resolution, and now too we want the issue to be resolved through dialogue,” he said on Friday afternoon.
Asked what Pakistan desired, Tarar said: “Neutralizing the threat and ensuring that Pakistan is safe. Because for us, we’ve been good neighbors, we’ve been very friendly neighbors, we’ve been very, very generous neighbors. Our generosity, unfortunately, has often been seen as our weakness. So the objective, aim is to neutralize the threat and make Pakistan safe.”
He added it was too early to comment on a ceasefire as it was an evolving situation.
