From Italy to Canada, how the UK’s Palestine Action group went global

London, United Kingdom – In November 2023, protesters spray painted the Rome headquarters of Leonardo, an Italian weapons manufacturer with ongoing contracts with Israel.The group was inspired by a Palestine Action protest against Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory that same month, which resulted in the factory being shut down.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Palestine Action supporters arrested outside US embassy in Londonlist 2 of 4Activists accused of raiding Israeli weapons factory face trial in Germanylist 3 of 4‘They try to break us’: Pro-Palestine activists in Czech custodylist 4 of 4Actors, writers condemn UK anti-terror law targeting Sally Rooneyend of list“That was the first movement, where, in Italy, we felt we needed to do something,” said Luca, a representative from the group, simply named Palestine Action Italy.It is one of several global offshoots of the proscribed UK group, Palestine Action.Other groups sharing the Palestine Action name exist elsewhere, including in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, France and Canada.Last week, a subsidiary of Elbit, Israel’s largest weapons maker and the target of Palestine Action’s campaign, in Canada was raided and spray-pa...