10th June 2006

Smash EDO Press Release
Embargo: For Immediate Release
ISRAELI NAVY MAY HAVE USED COMPONENTS MADE IN BRIGHTON TO MASSACRE CIVILIANS ON GAZA BEACH
Press Contacts – Andrew Beckett or Sarah Johnson
Tel - 07875 708873, smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk

On Saturday 10th June 10 Palestinian civilians were killed and 40 injured when an Israeli Navy vessel, backed up by Apache helicopters, fired on a beach near Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip.

Brighton arms manufacturers EDO MBM may have supplied some of the weaponry used in the attack. In December 2005 ex-managing director David Jones admitted under oath that EDO MBM supplied parts for Israeli fighter aircraft. Earlier that year EDO Corporation issued a press release saying that it had initiated a new contract with the Israeli Navy (see http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2006/03/edo-alofts-towedarray-sonar-for-israel/index.php).

In November last year protesters argued in the high court that EDO MBM were guilty of war crimes under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 for supplying weapons to the Israeli armed forces. They also delivered a demand for the arrest of the Directors of EDO MBM to Sussex Police.

EDO MBM supply components for the Hellfire missile used by the Israeli military in the bombing of Gaza. In April 2006 the IDF bombed Gaza scores of times using Hellfire missiles killing at least eight children. The attacks were condemned by the international community (see, for example, http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE150312006). The Hellfire missile is likely to have been used against the people on Gaza beach on Saturday

The occupation of Palestine is in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and UN Security Couneil Resolutions. In prosecuting the occupation Israel has ignored over eighty UN Resolutions.

Chris Osmond, protester, said ‘the attack on Saturday was a war crime and it was made possible by companies like EDO MBM. EDO MBM are supplying equipment to the Israeli military for the purpose of attacking civilians. The Managing Directors of EDO MBM are complicit in War Crimes and should be Prosecuted under the International Criminal Court Act 2001’

Smash EDO deonstrate outside EDO MBM every Wednesday 4-6pm

Notes for Journalists

Brighton & Hove is a UN Peace Messenger City

EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of huge U.S arms conglomerate EDO Corp, which was
recently named No. 10 in the Forbes list of 100
fastest growing companies. They supply bomb release
mechanisms to the US and UK armed forces amongst
others. They supply crucial components for Raytheon's Paveway guided bomb system, widely used in the "Shock and Awe" campaign in Iraq.
Campaign against EDO MBM.

EDO MBM makes electrical weapons components for the
Israeli military. EDO MBM manufactures components to be incorporated into the Hellfire missile, which the Israeli army has recently used to attack the civilian population of Gaza. They have organised conferences on the development of UCAVs, unmanned aircraft which are widely used in aerial attacks on Gaza. EDO Corporation, of which EDO MBM Brighton is a wholly owned trading unit, has a direct contract with the Israeli Navy who murdered 10 civilians on a beach near Beit Lahiya, Gaza, earlier this month.

People involved in the anti-EDO campaign include, but are not limited to: local residents, the Brighton Quakers, peace activists, anti-capitalists, Palestine Solidarity groups, human rights groups, trade unionists, academics and students.

The campaign started in August 2004 with a peace camp. It's avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their
complicity in war crimes and to remove them from
Brighton.

Contact Andrew Beckett or Sarah Johnson For more
Details

Email - smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk, tel 07875708873
http://www.smashedo.org.uk

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