London, United Kingdom – In November 2023, demonstrators spray-painted the Rome headquarters of Leonardo, an Italian weapons manufacturer with active contracts involving Israel.
The protest was inspired by a Palestine Action demonstration at Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory that same month, which forced the facility to shut down.
“That was the first movement where, in Italy, we felt we needed to do something,” said Luca, a representative of the group Palestine Action Italy.
It is one of several international offshoots of the proscribed UK group, Palestine Action.
Other groups sharing the Palestine Action name operate in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, France, and Canada.
Last week, a Canadian subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons maker and a long-standing target of the Palestine Action campaign, was raided and spray-painted by activists operating under the name Palestine Action Canada.
Beyond organizations using the Palestine Action name, other groups have also adopted the movement’s direct-action tactics of physically targeting arms manufacturers supplying Israel and companies alleged to be complicit in violence against Palestinians, rather than pursuing indirect pressure through voting, lobbying, or legal negotiation.
As Al Jazeera has reported, similar protest groups have organized in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Stop Arming Israel France focuses on action against French arms producers, while Global Sumud Flotilla Italy works to intercept cargo ships carrying arms-related materials into Italian ports.
“The direct action movement is growing across the world,” Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, told Al Jazeera. “For the Israeli weapons industry to operate, it requires a global supply chain and a presence in countries around the world. Those sites are pressure points that ordinary people can disrupt to bring down the Israeli war machine.”
Palestine Action Italy began as a small movement mirroring the British group but has since amassed tens of thousands of social media followers and staged several occupations of Leonardo’s facilities.
It works with other Palestine Action groups in Europe to host training sessions on direct action, teaching others how to occupy and disrupt the operations of weapons producers across the continent.
“Palestine Action is the closest way to be against the war. They are creating weapons, we are destroying them,” said Luca, a representative of the Italian group.
Activists in Italy’s waters have also taken similar action.
Last month, local activists and others associated with Global Sumud Flotilla Italia (GSF Italy) used three small ships to intercept the Sundaid X, a container ship carrying military cargo.
The group said the cargo directly supplied the nearby Sigonella naval air base and drone hub, “serving as a primary logistics pipeline for US military operations and ongoing conflicts across West Asia”.
Police detained the activists, accusing them of disrupting public order.
M, a spokesperson for Global Sumud Flotilla Italia, cited the direct-action tactics of climate justice movements such as Extinction Rebellion and the work of Palestine Action as important influences on Italy’s pro-Palestine direct-action organizing.
Asked about Palestine Action, M said, “[Italian activists] know them very well.”
According to her, arrests are a sign that the group’s efforts are working.
“We are disturbing them,” she said.
‘Disrupt the merchants of death’
In France last week, more than 20 activists blocked access to the headquarters of Safran Data Systems in Les Ulis, forcing the company to evacuate several employees and disrupting nearly three hours of work.
Safran Data Systems is part of Safran Electronics and Defense, a French company with ties to Israel’s military. This includes producing fighter jet parts and a partnership with Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael dating back to 2021, under which the two companies developed sensor technology that “reduced the time of the average time to close a [kill chain] to less than half a second,” a Rafael representative said in 2022.
Stop Arming Israel France, which was among the organizers, focuses on protests and direct action against companies producing military equipment for Israel and trade fairs showcasing such equipment.
“The aim is to disrupt the business-as-usual activities of the ‘merchants of death’ and have a tangible impact on the trade taking place at these fairs,” said a spokesperson for Stop Arming Israel France who wished to remain anonymous.
“The actions carried out by Palestine Action are a source of inspiration for many activists in France and encourage them to take action themselves,” the spokesperson said.
Still, they underlined their support for both direct action and other forms of protest for those not comfortable with the possible risks associated with direct action, such as being sentenced as “terrorists.”
Occupation is a commonly mirrored tactic that often carries less risk than property damage or vandalism but can still disrupt the flow of goods and services for prolonged periods.
In Canada, charges were recently dropped against activists who occupied a Montreal branch of Scotiabank to protest investments in Elbit Systems. The protesters were removed by police in riot gear during the 2024 action. In February, Scotiabank divested from Elbit Systems.
In July 2025, Palestine Action was proscribed as a “terrorist organisation” in the UK.
“Their repression demonstrates to ordinary people how effective direct action is. It is precisely because direct action threatens the Israeli war machine that they must [throw] everything at our movement to protect the military-industrial complex,” said Ammori.
Since the proscription, at least 4,000 people have been arrested on charges related to the group.
This includes thousands of largely peaceful protestors arrested for holding signs reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” at demonstrations regularly organized by the protest group Defend Our Juries.
On Wednesday, the UK-based group heads to court again to fight the ban.
“Our democracies have failed us; that’s why direct action is important,” said Luca of Palestine Action Italy.
In August 2026, the United States sanctioned Palestine Action alongside several other pro-Palestine organizations. As a result, Palestine Action Italy lost access to its US-based donation platform.
“We’re pretty sure that as soon as they realise how powerful [Palestine Action Italy] is in Italy, they will follow the UK’s footsteps,” said Luca of Palestine Action Italy. “We are getting ready to face this level of sacrifice: when we have to switch from being considered activists to being considered terrorists.”
