Council in legal moves to evict arms company
SOMERSET Council will pursue legal action to remove an Israeli arms company from an office block it owns near Bristol following a wave of protests.
The council has a portfolio of corporate property, including offices at Aztec West, occupied by Elbit Systems, an Israeli-based defence contractor which has supplied the Israeli army with equipment since 1966.
The council has been targeted repeatedly by the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action, which disrupted meetings and defaced the outside of County Hall in Taunton.
The full council voted on Tuesday to “explore all ways of legally evicting Elbit UK, or otherwise to dispose of the property”, in line with the other commercial investments which are being sold off to balance its budget.
The offices at Aztec West are one of two sites Elbit has in the Bristol area. In the UK it employs about 600 people at about a dozen sites and supplies the British Army as well as Israeli forces.
Councillors also voted to give “moral and ethical considerations” equal weight when making any future commercial property investments, an approach which was criticised by Conservative councillors.
Most of the council’s property portfolio was inherited from the district councils when the unitary council was formed.
Councillor Brian Smedley (Labour, Bridgwater South) introduced the motion, arguing that getting rid of Elbit and the offices in question would end the council’s “potential complicity in the ongoing conflict in Palestine”,
“The sale of arms to Israel has to end now,” he said. “Israel needs to live in peace with its neighbours, and Palestine must be free.”
Cllr Shane Collins (Green, Frome East) seconded the motion, stating: “We have a problem that is not of our making. This is a legacy investment which we are trying to get rid of.
“This motion opens the way to look at legal routes for the eviction of Elbit.
“There is evidence of illegal or immoral activity here, and I think in our heart of hearts we are all disgusted at what is unfolding in Gaza and the continuing of arms sales to the Israel Defence Force.”
The council is reviewing its entire property portfolio, selling off commercial investments where necessary in order to balance its books, with the proceeds being used to fund front-line services.
The council’s property and investments executive sub-committee voted on April 15 that it would write to Elbit UK to request an urgent meeting over the future of Aztec West.
Numerous councillors, mostly belonging to the Conservative opposition group, said they supported the eviction of Elbit or the sale of the property, but warned that making moral decisions on future investments would set an unwanted precedent.
Cllr David Fothergill (Conservative, Monkton and North Curry) said: “I would like to have clear legal advice that we’re not setting a policy which is hamstringing our pensions fund.
“This could have implications on other parts of the council’s business; for example, we have business centres with EDF in them and county farms where our farming practices are debated.”
Cllr Peter Seib (Liberal Democrat, Brympton) concurred: “If we were to attempt an eviction, it could be tested against us, and that would be an expensive process for both parties.
“I cannot defend what is happening in Israel – that is horrid. But to take people who work in Bristol and associate them with the Israeli goverment’s choices – I think we are acting without evidence of wrongdoing, on an emotional basis, and I think this motion is premature.”
The motion passed by a significant margin, with only five voting against and eight abstaining.