Pro-Palestine activists have targeted a building housing financial services company Allianz in Glasgow over their alleged links to Israel.
The firm’s office on Waterloo Street had its windows smashed, red paint sprayed across the walls, ‘Allianz Drop Elbit’ scrawled on the walls, in protest against the company’s alleged links to Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems.
On social media, Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the attack claiming they also targeted nine other Allianz buildings across the UK and had ‘occupied’ their UK headquarters in Guildford, south London.
They posted: “Palestine Action target 10 offices owned by Allianz, investors and insurers of Israel’s biggest weapons firm, Elbit Systems. Without insurance, Elbit couldn’t operate in Britain. Nine actions occurred overnight and the company’s Guildford HQ remains occupied!!”
The vandalism coincides with the first anniversary of the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Palestine Action also targeted buildings in Manchester, Lancaster, Belfast, two in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Milton Keynes.
Allianz is the latest global financial targeted by vandalism, with British bank Barclays recently attacked by pro-Palestine protesters.
Recent snaps shared on social media saw red paint splattered across the front of the Barclays building in Princes Street, Edinburgh, with graffiti daubed on the wall saying ‘drop Elbit.’
The firm faced criticism for providing financial services to defence firms that allegedly produce equipment used by the Israeli Defence Force.
A statement from Palestine Action read: “Allianz has previously been described as Elbit’s “principle institutional shareholder”, at-one-point owning over 2% of the company. The finance company continues to hold thousands of shares in Elbit Systems Ltd, while its subsidiary ‘Allianz Insurance Products Trust’ provides insurance services for Elbit Systems UK, including employment insurance.
“Elbit provides over 85% of Israel’s drone, including the quadcopters used to assassinate countless Palestinian men, women, and children, and has publicly advertised its weaponry as being ‘battle-tested’ on Palestinians. Its business operations are central to Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and its technologies uphold the brutal occupation regime.”
Allianz and Police Scotland have been approached for comment.
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