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A bank in Preston has been targeted as part of nationwide action undertaken by activists.
Glass has been shattered and red paint sprayed at Barclays on Fishergate as part of joint action taken by Palestine Action and Shut the System.
In total, around 20 branches of Barclays have been targeted in the UK.
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A spokesperson for Palestine Action confirmed the action had been taken by their activists to Blog Preston. They said the bank’s investments include Elbit Systems, a weapons firm in Israel.
They said: “Activists broke windows of Barclays branches and offices across England and Scotland this morning to demand the bank divests from Israel’s weapons trade and fossil fuels.
“They shattered glass, sprayed paint and stencilled over the façades of around 20 buildings from Glasgow to Brighton. In Edinburgh, rocks were thrown through windows, inscribed with the names of Palestinians killed in the genocide.
“Shut the System, a recently launched underground climate movement, has partnered with Palestine Action’s underground division to mastermind this nationwide campaign of targeted property damage.
“Palestine Action aims to halt the Palestinian genocide by undermining suppliers of weapons to the Israeli military, including Elbit Systems, along with financial companies involved with these weapons suppliers. Shut the System targets banks and insurance companies which enable fossil fuel expansion.”
In a statement on its website, Barclays says: “It is not true that we have made a decision to invest in Elbit.
“We may hold shares in relation to client driven transactions, which is why we appear on the share register, but we are not investors.
“We note also that Elbit is highlighted because campaigners claim it makes cluster bombs.
“We would cease any relationship with any business where we saw evidence that it manufactures cluster bombs or components.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary told Blog Preston: “We were called at 3.27am today to Barclays Bank, Fishergate, Preston to a report of criminal damage.
“Our officers attended and found that damage had been caused to windows and graffiti sprayed on the building.”
Anyone who witnessed the damage being caused or has information, contact police on 101 – quoting log 0105 of 10th June 2024.
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