How Palestine Action prepares activists for protests against Gaza war

It was only when they were gathered at a safe house that the two Palestine Action activists learnt for the first time what they had been asked to do the following morning.

Mary Ensell, 45, and Harry Wade, 26, chained themselves to a van that had been crashed into the entrance of a Teledyne factory at 5am, in protest against the company supplying products being used in the war in Gaza.

Details of their protest have been revealed in court documents, which show the planning that goes into Palestine Action's sabotage attacks and the extent to which "foot soldiers" are kept in the dark about what they are to do until the last minute. The evidence also shows how the group tried to intimidate Teledyne's lawyers.

Ensell and Wade both contacted the group after becoming concerned about the devastation in Gaza. They volunteered to take part in direct action against companies in the UK that were supplying products for the Israeli military.

Since their protest early this year, Palestine Action has been designated as a terrorist organisation after activists broke into a military base and damaged British aircraft they claimed were used to assist Israel's war effort.

In response to continued protests by Palestine Action, Teledyne obtained a High Court injunction in January that forbids protesters from entering six of the company's sites in Britain. But Ensell and Wade took part in a demonstration at the Shipley site on January 28, four days after the injunction was granted. They have now admitted breaching the injunction, although a judge has spared them from a jail sentence for contempt of court.

In her ruling, judge Mary Stacey outlined how the pair volunteered to become activists for the group after seeing news and social media reports about the Gaza war. After making contact with the group, they were given an “onboarding session” and offered to take part in “medium-level action” for which they would not be sent to prison.

"A few months later and after several further conversations with representatives from Palestine Action, they were each told, separately, that they had been approved to be involved in a medium-level action, coming up shortly," the judge said.

The pair "were not told any details or what or where it might be" and "they had not been involved in any of the planning and organisation", she added.

The judge described the pair as “foot soldiers” who met for the first time at a “safe house” the night before the protest, to undergo a briefing at which they were told where the action would take place. They were both told to leave their mobile phones at home.

“The action had been planned, designed and organised by others beforehand and neither of them were privy to any information other than about the limited role each had agreed to perform the next day,” the judge said.

On the day of their action, the pair travelled in a car behind the van driven by fellow activists. The van then drove at speed towards two bollards, causing about £3,500 ($4,710) of damage.

Ensell and Wade then got out of the car and locked themselves to the van and sat in the rain in a bid to prevent workers from entering the site. A couple of hours later, a security guard emerged and told them about the injunction, which they ignored.

About 40 police officers and ambulance staff arrived at the scene over the course of the day in an effort to cut them free from the van, but the vehicle had been reinforced with concrete from the inside, making such efforts impossible. The activists released themselves at 12.30pm.

In a submission to the court, Teledyne said the offices of the law firm that worked on the injunction has been the target of supporters of Palestine Action. Four activists smashed a window at Keystone Law’s office early on March 10 and sprayed red paint inside. The words "Drop Teledyne" were written on the pavement outside.

Palestine Action posters bearing a picture of the lawyer handling the case were stuck to the wall of a coffee shop. The posters accused him of being complicit in war crimes and genocide.

Justice Stacey said she believed Ensell and Ward were not aware of the existence of an injunction. But continuing their protest after being told of the order justified a jail term of 28 days, she added.

The judge reduced this to 21 days and suspended the sentence for a year, meaning they will go to prison if they undertake any further protest action during that time.

Teledyne said in the court submission that it makes products for a “wide range of industrial markets, including defence and aerospace”, some of which have “military end-uses”. Of those, “some products are exported under licence to Israel”. The company has been approached for comment.

Supporters of Palestine Action recently staged a protest in central London to openly defy the law and run the risk of arrest. About half of the 522 detained were over the age of 60, police said. Palestine Action has been allowed to legally challenge the decision to designate it as a terrorist group and a decision on the issue is due in November.