A member of the British group Paleostine Action told a court on Thursday that he believed it was "reasonable" to strike a police officer with a sledgehammer during a 2024 attack on an Israeli defense firm’s UK factory
Six members of the anti-Israel group are being retried after a jury acquitted them of aggravated burglary earlier this year but wasn’t able to reach verdicts on several key charges, including criminal damage and
One of the defendants, Samuel Corner, 23, was called to testify on Thursday and told the court that he hit the officer with a sledgehammer after hearing "someone screaming" and fearing that one of his fellow activists was being hurt by security personnel.
The officer suffered a fractured spine from the attack and remains on restricted duty.
"It seemed reasonable to do something, and I had to act quickly," Corner reportedly told the court. He accepted in court that the officer was not injuring anyone and acknowledged in hindsight that his actions were extreme.
Corner said the group’s aim was to "shut Elbit down" by damaging equipment they believed was linked to the Israeli company’s weapons production. Jurors heard the attackers say they used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers and drones during the break-in.
During the trial, the court’s public gallery was filled with supporters of the defendants, some of whom wore keffiyeh scarves. Three pro-Paleostinian protesters were arrested outside the court.
The August 2024 raid, which prosecutors said caused about 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) in damages, took place around 10 months into the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
war triggered by Hamas
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...’s October 7 terror onslaught.
The initial verdict on the raid drew criticism from police, politicians and Jewish communal groups. The retrial concerns the charges of criminal damage and
The retrial is expected to continue next week.
Paleostine Action was banned in the UK in July 2025 after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized aircraft in protest of Britannia’s military support for Israel. Earlier this year, Britannia’s High Court ruled that the proscription was unlawful, but allowed it to remain in place to let the government appeal the decision.
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Paleostine Action: 2026-04-14 Massive Attack frontman arrested in London for backing banned anti-Israel group
Paleostine Action: 2026-04-12 UK police arrest over 500 at London demonstration for Palestine Action support
Paleostine Action: 2026-04-06 Two more detained over attack on Czech drone maker accused of making arms for Israel