Four members of Palestine Action received lengthy prison terms Friday after a London court determined their attack on an Israeli defense facility constituted terrorism rather than simple property destruction.
The activists caused damage totaling 1.2 million pounds ($1.6 million) during their assault on the Elbit Systems facility, and their confrontation with security personnel and police resulted in a law enforcement officer suffering a fractured spine.
Justice Jeremy Johnson determined the incident exceeded typical property damage charges because the defendants sought to shut down the defense contractor’s operations or pressure the British government to halt production, creating what he termed a “terrorist connection.”
“Each defendant agreed to take part in high-level actions, and did so with the shared aim of shutting down Elbit and ending what they regarded as British complicity in Israeli war crimes,” Johnson said. “The action was designed to influence the U.K. government and also to intimidate a section of the public, and was for the purpose of advancing an ideological or political cause.”
Samuel Corner, 23, received seven years and eight months behind bars. Charlotte Head and Leona Kamio, both 30, were each sentenced to five years imprisonment, while Fatema Rajwani, 21, got four years and eight months.
The Bristol factory incident in 2024 contributed to the government’s decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization last year, resulting in more than 1,600 arrests of supporters between July and September, based on Home Office statistics.
London’s High Court declared the group’s terrorist designation illegal, though the prohibition remains active while awaiting an appeals court decision scheduled for Monday.
During Friday’s sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court, authorities arrested over 100 Palestine Action demonstrators gathered outside the southeast London courthouse.
The four defendants received their criminal damage convictions in May.
Head drove a van through the Elbit Systems facility gates on Aug. 6, 2024, after which the four activists, wearing red jumpsuits, used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy equipment they believed would produce drones for killing people in the Middle East.
During the altercation with security and police, Corner struck police Sgt. Kate Evans twice in the back with a 7-pound (3.2 kilogram) sledgehammer, breaking her spine. He received a conviction for causing serious bodily harm.
Evans informed the court she continues recovering from her injuries and has been subjected to hostile emails claiming she serves “the Zionist occupation of Britain.”
“The emotional impact of this incident has been profound and ongoing,” she said. “I experience disturbed sleep, often waking in a panicked state or after distressing dreams.”
Johnson’s terrorism-related ruling requires each convicted person to complete at least two-thirds of their sentence and obtain Parole Board permission for release.
Amnesty International criticized treating property damage as terrorism, calling it a dangerous precedent.
“Today’s sentencing hearing risks marking a new low in the ongoing crackdown against protest across the U.K.,” Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty’s U.K. chief executive said in a statement. “It is completely disproportionate to do so because the offense occurred at a protest.”
These convictions followed an earlier trial where jurors cleared six defendants of aggravated burglary and violent disorder charges but couldn’t reach decisions on property damage accusations. Two other defendants were cleared during the second trial.
