Anti-Israel activists illegally entered an Israel-owned weapons plant in central Wales.
Local media say members of the pro-BDS group Palestine Action smashed their way into the US-owned Teledyne Labtech on 9 December using sledgehammers.
The group threw red paint on the building’s exterior, destroyed computers inside, and accessed the roof.
In a statement, Dyfed Powys Police explained that a "large number" of its officers had to be dispatched to the factory to tackle the protest, where they arrested two women aged 65 and 41.
While the demonstration remained ongoing, local councillor Beverley Baynham took to Facebook to reassure her constituents, writing: "As many people will be aware there has been an incident at Labtech this morning. A group calling themselves Palestine Action have smashed their way into the factory and caused large amounts of criminal damage.
"The Police have the area locked down and have it under control, although the road is closed which is causing traffic chaos. The children are fine in school and there is no danger to anyone.
"Please avoid the area as the bypass is closed for a short stretch around Labtech and there is no through access for both traffic & pedestrians."
Welsh police block roads in and out of the arms factory, but that'll fail to protect Israel's smashed military hardware #ShutTeledyneDown #ShutElbitDown pic.twitter.com/NGiYFRi3nI
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) December 9, 2022
The protest group, explained their motivations for the incident in a statement shared on their website, writing: "Palestine Action vow to continue this action for as long as possible to stop the manufacture or shipment of Israel's drone technologies and military gear.
"For over two years, Palestine Action's campaign has primarily focused on Elbit Systems — Israel's largest arms firm — and has seen two of their sites forced to close permanently,” the group claimed. It is not confirmed that protests are the reason Elbit’s London and Oldham sites closed.
“Britain is now a hostile environment for all companies involved in the brutalisation and murder of Palestinians. Elbit Systems is one such company, but Teledyne Technologies are another major player,” they went on.
“They supply surveillance equipment for Israel’s apartheid wall and targeting systems for their fleet of combat drones. Tackling the imperialist hydra means cutting off all its heads, so we will shut down each and every company complicit in the ongoing colonisation of Palestine." they claimed.
Palestine Action recently staged a protest at the techUK Defense Winter Dinner, in which five activists seized the microphone at Central London’s Landmark Hotel, and complained about Elbit Systems and other firms' links with Israel.
