WHEN five actionists scaled the factory of an arms manufacturer in Glasgow, their futures hung off the precipice, and they knew that.

The factory belongs to an international weapons company which produces a drone developed with Israeli arms company Elbit Systems.

The five were contending with much more than the police surrounding them and the drop beneath their feet. One of them, Stuart Bretherton wrote an article for The National earlier this year, in which he said he had no regrets: “Scotland has to answer for what is done if our politicians fail to act.”

Since then, Stuart has been imprisoned. And I believe the Scottish Government are required to answer for that.

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The action for which he was arrested happened after the weekend of May 29, 2022, when Israeli citizens (followed by armed forces) violently stormed East Jerusalem chanting “Death to Arabs!”After those events, Stuart, alongside Eva Simmons, Calum Lacy, Erica Hygate and Sumaya Javaid – now known as the Thales Five – launched the Scottish wing of Palestine Action, a network dedicated to shutting down Britain’s continued role in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

They scaled the Thales factory, occupied the rooftop and some entered the site and destroyed equipment in a move to halt the production of weapons being used against a captive population.

The difference between the Thales Five and the millions of people who have marched in pro-Palestine demos is that instead of politely asking for an end to colonial violence, they created the conditions of that end.

Stuart, like most people who join the movement, could no longer peacefully continue to ignore the merchants of death on his doorstep. Thales is a French-owned arms manufacturer producing military apparatus for the Israeli state.

Having volunteered extensively in Palestine Action’s justice support team, I have witnessed all the waves of repression enacted by the British state against our movement.

(Image: Palestine Action)

There have been sit-downs between Britain’s Attorney General and the Israeli ambassador to end our campaign (which was followed by arbitrary house raids, seizing of passports and arrests of activists under charges such as blackmail).

Lord Walney’s report on political disruption advised a “proscription-lite” category (after Israel’s largest arms manufacturer complained in a private meeting of the detrimental effect Palestine Action was having on weapons flow). We know the pattern – we will be confronted by the worst the state can throw at us the closer we get to victory.

Yet despite all the arrests, isolation and imprisonment we’ve dealt with, the incarceration of the Thales Five came as a surprise. I’ve been moved by Scotland’s support of Palestinian rights.

The day before the Thales Five’s sentencing, the SNP Government vowed to cease all meetings with Israeli officials until real progress towards peace was made in Gaza. Then we heard not 24 hours later that our comrades had been sentenced to 12-14 months in prison for neutralising the very war machine Scotland condemns.

What message is Scotland trying to send – that protecting the property of Israel’s arms suppliers is, after all the posturing, more important than Scottish people’s rights?

Eleven other Palestine Action activists are currently behind bars in England, 10 of whom are on remand under the Terrorism Act (while not actually having been charged with terrorism, in a blatant abuse of police power).

(Image: Palestine Action)

Now, the Scottish judiciary system is mimicking the increasingly authoritarian decisions of Westminster, repressing protesters for acting in accordance with international law by putting a stop to Britain’s complicity in genocide. Sheriff John N McCormick stated that the aim of the harsh sentencing was a deterrent: “[The court] has to send a signal that such unlawful and reckless actions will attract custodial sentences where appropriate.”

While the Scottish Parliament, of course, does not control the sentences handed down, it does have the means to review how legislation is being used and should be consistent in ensuring the values of Scotland are reflected.

Will the administration recognise the sacrifices being made by grassroots activists, who are demonstrating accountability for unlawful colonial occupation?

Because the fallout of using our countries to produce munitions for Israel is this – Scotland’s young people of good conscience end up behind bars. Yet, there is a loud silence where public outrage should go.

Even from within prison, Stuart speaks with a clarity only the brave can master. He wrote in a letter: “They can strip our liberation and freedom but it was already incomplete without freedom and liberation for the Palestinians. The reality is Palestine Action’s strategy is working. Which poses a huge threat to the UK’s relationship with Israel. We inevitably attract the tantrum of an insecure British state.

We must refuse to be intimidated into allowing a genocide to continue.