Pro-Palestine activists vandalized tanks for Ukraine by mistake: “They entered the warehouse with grinders and hammers”
About 100 pro-Palestinian activists dressed in white overalls and covered faces stormed the headquarters of the Oip Land Systems company in Tournai, Belgium, on June 23, causing about one million euros to Ukraine's military equipment, according to the Belgian and Palestinian press.
Belgian army tanks were reconditioned to be delivered to Ukraine Profimedia photo
The vandalizations took place in the campaign “Stop of Israel's armor” in which the activists asked Belgium to respect the military embargo against Israel and to impose sanctions to this country.
“Elbit is the industrial branch of genocide in the Gaza Strip,” said an activist, stressing that Belgian complicity should be denounced.
“The people entered the warehouse with grinders and hammers,” said Freddy Versluys, the general manager of Oip Land Systems, for the Belgian press, denouncing a coordinated and planned action, “they vandalized our offices, destroyed the computers, then headed to the workshops, where they were seriously damaged.”
Oip belongs to Elbit Systems, an important weapon producer in Israel. According to activists, Elbit provides 85% of drones and most of the military equipment used by Israeli defense forces (IDF).
Versluys said that Oip operates fully autonomously and “has not produced defense systems for Israel for twenty years.”
“We do not sell anything to Israel, they vandalized vehicles for Ukraine,” he explained.
Since the invasion of Russia, the company, specialized in the maintenance, repair and modernization of military vehicles, has delivered approximately 260 aircraft vehicles, including Leopard 1 from the Belgian army stocks.
“The next delivery will be delayed at least a month. This is all these Hamas supporters have managed to achieve by their action,” said Versluys, who said he would file a criminal complaint against activists.
According to Stop Arming Israel, at least thirty people were arrested.
“The Stop Arming Israel campaign aims to exhibit at least 10 companies involved in the Israeli armament sector in Belgium: Oip-Elbit, Safran, Thales, BMT Aerospace, Sabca, Caterpillar, Challenge Handling, Maersk, Scioteq and Syensqo,” the activists said.
“The Israeli army benefits from total impunity not only for its actions in Palestine, but also for aggressions against Lebanon, Syria [sic]Iran or Yemen. ”
In a second press release dedicated to the action in Brussels, the activists complained about the treatment applied by the police.
“We were kept in the sun for hours, without food, water or access to toilets. In general, we notice a significant increase in repression against the pro-Palestinian movement in Belgium.”
