From Italy to Canada, How the UK’s Palestine Action Group Went Global

After Palestine Action targeted Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory in November 2023, prompting its closure, activists spray-painted the Italian weapons manufacturer’s headquarters in Rome. Luca, a representative of Palestine Action Italy, said that action marked the start of the movement in Italy. Groups using the same name now exist in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, France and Canada; the week before publication, Palestine Action Canada activists raided and spray-painted an Elbit subsidiary. Other organisations are also adopting direct-action tactics against arms manufacturers supplying Israel and companies accused of complicity in the genocide of Palestinians.