Activists locked themselves to equipment at the UK warehouse of apartheid-supporting company, Carmel Agrexco, on Monday, July 15, as part of a protest against the companyâs complicity in Israeli war crimes.
Nine protestors entered the warehouse in Uxbridge, Middlesex and handed out leaflets explaining the protest to the workers. Two protestors locked themselves to the companyâs equipment. However, when they tried to explain Carmel Agrexcoâs support for ethnic cleansing and war crimes in Palestine, they were met with aggression and violence.
Outside the warehouse, more protestors established a symbolic âPalestinian settlementâ and hoisted the Palestinian flag on Carmel Agrexcoâs flagpole in an ironic gesture which drew attention to the fact that many of the workers who work for the company in the Jordan Valley are illegal Israeli settlers. Palestinian homes have been demolished to make way for these settlers and Carmel Agrexco grows its produce on land stolen from Palestinian farmers. In a letter to the company, sent prior to the direct action, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign UK pointed out that this in fact made Carmel Agrexco complicit in war crimes.
Mondayâs action was part of a three year campaign against the company and was the fifth blockade of the companyâs premises in three years.
Carmel Agrexco produces fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs which it supplies to supermarkets in the UK, and Europe. It is the largest importer of Israeli agricultural produce to the EU and is 50% state owned by the Israeli government. Consumers are asked not to buy produce displaying a âCarmelâ sticker as part of the growing boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against apartheid Israeli.