London
CNN
—
Round 20 branches of Barclays have been vandalized by pro-Palestinian and local weather activists who mentioned they have been protesting in opposition to the UK financial institution’s enterprise dealings in Israel and its funding of polluting industries.
Home windows have been smashed and crimson paint was sprayed throughout buildings, together with in London, to “demand the financial institution divests from Israel’s weapons commerce and fossil fuels,” Palestine Motion, a pro-Palestinian protest group, mentioned Monday in an announcement shared with CNN.
In Edinburgh, rocks inscribed with the names of Palestinians killed in Gaza have been thrown by way of the home windows of a Barclays (BCS) department, in response to the assertion.
“Frustration with Barclays’ restricted progress in direction of stopping their genocidal and climate-destructive financing has helped spawn this new radical flank of activism,” Palestine Motion mentioned. “Focused actions will proceed till Barclays utterly eliminates this financing from its enterprise mannequin.”
Shut the System, an environmental activist group, posted a number of photos to X Monday — apparently its first exercise on the platform — displaying badly broken Barclays branches.
“Shut the System and Palestine Motion have taken radical direct motion in frustration with Barclays’ paltry progress on altering their local weather destroying and genocidal financing,” one put up learn.
CNN has contacted Shut the System for remark.
Quite a lot of pro-Palestinian teams have referred to as for protests in opposition to Barclays, alleging that the financial institution invests billions of {dollars} in firms linked to Israel’s navy.
A May 2024 report printed by the Palestine Solidarity Marketing campaign, Marketing campaign In opposition to Arms Commerce, and Battle on Need alleged that Barclays “had shareholdings in, and/or offered loans and monetary companies to, a minimum of 9 firms identified to be producing weapons and navy expertise offered to Israel and utilized in its militarised assaults on Palestinians.”
A spokesperson for Barclays advised CNN that it gives “very important monetary companies to US, UK and European public firms that provide protection merchandise to NATO and its allies,” noting that Barclays doesn’t instantly put money into these firms.
“The protection sector is key to our nationwide safety and the UK authorities has been clear that supporting protection firms is appropriate with (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues. Selections on the implementation of arms embargos to different nations are the job of respective elected governments,” the spokesperson added.
“Whereas we help the appropriate to protest, we ask that campaigners accomplish that in a approach which respects our prospects, colleagues and property.”
Three males have been arrested in reference to legal injury at a London department of Barclays on Monday, the Metropolis of London Police announced on X.