“Someone took action yesterday, so clearly it hasn’t worked” – that was the verdict of former Palestine Action political prisoner Zoë Rogers when I asked her in a recent interview if recent legal repression of her movement was working.
Rogers was referencing a 15 June blockade of the arms company Ultra I&C in Maidenhead, west of London, by a new direct action group called People Against Genocide.
Campaigners say that Ultra I&C is a key supplier to the Israeli drone maker Elbit Systems’ factory in Leicester, which is in the north.
Rogers highlighted that the blockade was a message of defiance to the Court of Appeal’s ruling that same day that the Labour government’s “terrorism” ban on Palestinian Action was lawful.
The Aftershock@The_Aftershock_
BREAKING: People Against Genocide are blocking all entry to Ultra I&C, a key supplier to Elbit's Israeli drone factory in Leicester. They used modified suitcases to lock on and shut down the site for as long as possible. "Direct action will continue undeterred"
8:00 AM · Jun 15, 2026 · 25.2K Views
171 Replies · 749 Reposts · 1.58K Likes
The Aftershock@The_Aftershock_
People Against Genocide continue to blockade Ultra I&C in Maidenhead, to prevent the arms company from supplying Elbit's Israeli drone factory in Leicester. Elbit Systems relies on a network of companies and suppliers in order to build Israeli weapons in Britain.
9:52 AM · Jun 15, 2026 · 6.11K Views
12 Replies · 151 Reposts · 264 Likes
She explained that the court is “trying to dissuade people from taking direct action, despite the fact that it’s the only effective way to stop the supply of weapons to Israel … because this country is so intent on putting the profits of an Israeli weapons company and its own relationship with Israel above the rights of its own citizens.”
She said that the Maidenhead blockade and other recent actions show that “that people are not afraid and in fact, people are escalating.”
Also in the interview, Rogers talked about her experiences inside the British prison system, why she and her friends took action against Elbit’s factory in Filton, and how much damage they really did.
Rogers is one of the Filton 25, a group of imprisoned activists who have been persecuted by Britain’s “anti-terror” police for their alleged roles in direct action against Elbit’s Filton arms factory in August 2024.
You can watch the whole interview in the video below. It first aired on The Electronic intifada livestream last week.
Since we filmed that interview, the British state and legal system has ramped up its persecution of Palestine Action and solidarity campaigners in general.
Jeremy Johnson – the judge who this month convicted four of the Filton prisoners with extraordinary sentences ranging from almost six years up to eight years – is also now renewing his previous efforts to prosecute one of the Filton 25’s legal team.
Trial lawyer Rajiv Menon is facing new contempt of court hearings, despite the Court of Appeal in May rebuffing Johnson’s previous attempt to go after Menon as unlawful.
Menon’s law firm Garden Court Chambers said that Johnson’s move was “unprecedented” and that the move had “sent shock waves through the legal profession.”
Menon is being punished for his closing defense speech in the original trial of a smaller group known as the Filton 6. That speech helped to ensure the initial acquittal of all serious charges against all six.
Johnson has refused to recuse himself from the case, despite having strong links to British spy agencies.
Garden Court North@gcnchambers
(1/3) Garden Court North members are dismayed to learn that proceedings are once again being initiated against Rajiv Menon KC for contempt of court following his speech delivered to a jury at the Woolwich Crown Court in January.
4:18 PM · Jun 24, 2026 · 102K Views
40 Replies · 712 Reposts · 1.33K Likes
As I explained on the livestream, Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori’sreactionto the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the government’s “terror” ban was defiant. She said her legal team would continue their appeal against the ban to the UK Supreme Court – and even all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
But such a legal process could take months or even years. All the while, the ban on Palestine Action will remain in place.
With the emergence of new direct action groups such as People Against Genocide, it seems likely that former Palestine Action activists will now turn their focus away from the legal fight and onto a renewed campaign of direct action against Elbit targets in the UK.
Either way, The Electronic Intifada will closely follow developments.
First published by The Electronic Intifada.
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