The British jury tasked with issuing a verdict on eight members of the illegal organization Palestine Action, accused of causing damage at the facilities of an Israeli defense company near Bristol, has finally been dissolved after 37 hours of deliberations without reaching a consensus.
Although none of the defendants were physically present at the location on August 6, 2024, the prosecution argues that they were part of the organization and coordination of the protest carried out at the Elbit Systems plant, an action that allegedly caused destruction and damage to military equipment, including drones.
The eight defendants rejected all the charges, which included criminal damage and violent disorder. The magistrate decided this Wednesday to dissolve the jury, a day after it found one of the defendants guilty of property damage, whose identity is kept secret for security reasons.
After those 37 hours of deliberation, the jury did not manage to reach any other verdict regarding the rest of the accused. The trial began on June 22, and it is now up to the prosecution to assess whether to request a retrial. For this, a new preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 14.
The events occurred in one of the most critical points of the Israeli Army's attacks on the Gaza Strip and before the then government of Keir Starmer introduced restrictions on the export of arms to Israel.
The accused have remained in preventive detention for 18 months, and some even began hunger strikes in protest of the conditions of their imprisonment.
The organization Palestine Action was declared illegal in the United Kingdom in July 2025 under anti-terrorism legislation, following an incident at the Air Force base in Brize Norton, where several activists sprayed red paint on the engines of two military tanker planes.