Four people have been arrested after footage appeared to show pro-Palestine activists smashing a car through the gates of a defence manufacturer.
A group named online as Palestinian Martyrs appear to have broken into the Moog Aircraft Group factory in Pendeford, Wolverhampton at 3:50am on Tuesday.
Dramatic footage shows a black four-wheel drive car smashing through two white barriers, before the activists set off red flares and climb a ladder onto the roof of a building.
Staffordshire Police said there was significant damage caused to a number of sky lights and solar panels. The activists have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, police added.
The manufacturer was targeted because it builds parts for the F-35 fighter jets which the UK sells to Israel via a global pool, the group claimed. F-35 fighter jets have been used in Israel’s destructive bombing campaign in Gaza for nearly two years.
One of the activists said: “We are Palestinian Martyrs for Justice and each of us here today on the roof of Moog are wearing a T-shirt of one of the martyrs that have been murdered by Israel in the genocide.”
Police said in a statement: “A number of individuals had entered a manufacturing building and gained access to the roof.
“Officers, along with colleagues from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, were deployed to the scene and four individuals were arrested.
“This is an ongoing investigation and we would ask members of the public to avoid the site at this time.”
The arrests come weeks after a separate group, Palestine Action, was proscribed by the government after two of its members broke into RAF Brize Norton where they damaged jets. The group was also linked to allegations of a serious assault on staff and police officers at a business premises in South Gloucestershire.
More than 700 people have been arrested for showing support for the group since it was banned on July 5, with 67 charged so far, police said.
The charges relate to protests in central London on July 5 and 12.
They will appear in court across several dates in October, and face a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment.
