Activists shut down UK arms factories ahead of a month of protests

Hundreds of workers and protesters blockaded arms factories in England and Scotland on Wednesday that produce components for F-35 fighter jets, currently being used by Israel to bomb Gaza.

The protesters - including health workers, teachers, hospitality workers, academics and artists, who are members of a wide range of trade unions - are taking the action under the banner Workers for a Free Palestine, in order to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel.

Around 15 percent of the components of all F-35s is produced in Britain. According to the US producer Lockheed Martin, "the fingerprints of British ingenuity can be found on dozens of the aircraft’s key components".

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