Three British activists end hunger strike after UK rejects arms deal with Israeli company
Muraisi had refused food for 73 days, Ahmed for 66 days, and Chiaramello—who has Type 1 diabetes—had fasted on alternate days for 44 days
LONDON (MNTV) – Three British activists imprisoned for their alleged connection to Palestine Action, a banned anti-genocide organization, concluded their months-long hunger strike late Wednesday following the U.K. government’s decision to reject a £2.1 billion ($2.7 billion) contract with a British subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.
According to Prisoners for Palestine (P4P), an organization representing the hunger strikers, Hamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi, and Lewie Chiaramello resumed eating after the government’s announcement.
Muraisi had refused food for 73 days, Ahmed for 66 days, and Chiaramello—who has Type 1 diabetes—had fasted on alternate days for 44 days.
“It is definitely a time for celebration,” Chiaramello stated.
“A time to rejoice and to embrace our joy as revolution and as liberation.”
Speaking to the New Arab, P4P spokesperson Francesca Nadin characterized the hunger strike as “a landmark moment of pure defiance; an embarrassment for the British state.”
P4P issued a statement declaring that the government’s efforts to suppress their movement had “backfired,” adding that “direct action is alive, and the people will drive Elbit out of Britain for good.” The organization emphasized this represented only “the beginning” of their campaign.
Four additional hunger-striking members of the “Filton 24″—Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah, and Amu Gib—also resumed eating following the contract announcement, according to P4P.
The activists ended their strike as their physical conditions deteriorated significantly, with Muraisi reportedly telling a friend earlier in the week that she was “dying.”
The 24 accused Palestine Action activists face charges related to allegedly breaking into Elbit Systems’ research and development facility in Filton in 2024.
Members allegedly conducted similar direct action demonstrations at other U.K. weapons facilities that supply arms to Israel during its genocidal campaign in Gaza, which critics have characterized as genocidal.
P4P described the contract cancellation as “a resounding victory for the hunger strikers, who resisted with their incarcerated bodies to shed light on the role of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, in the colonization and occupation of Palestine.”
British Parliament voted last year to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization following alleged vandalism by some members at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.
Group members also allegedly damaged U.S. President Donald Trump’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland. The designation places the nonviolent organization in the same legal category as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, with membership or support carrying potential sentences of up to 14 years in prison.
Since the ban took effect, authorities have arrested over 2,000 individuals for allegedly supporting the group, in some cases for simply displaying signs associated with the organization.
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