’The headquarters remains shut down as activists have occupied the front overhang,’ says group
Video footage has emerged of protest group Palestine Action occupying Allianz’s Guildford-based headquarters.
Today (8 October 2024), the group said it had targeted 10 British offices of Allianz over the insurer’s alleged involvement with Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems.
The Guildford office in Ladymead was among bases targeted. Footage shows protestors on the roof of the building, while the words ‘Drop Elbit’ have been sprayed over the windows.
What appears to be fake blood has also been splattered across the outside of the office.
“The headquarters remains shut down as activists have occupied the front overhang,” the group added.
You can watch the video below.
Video credit - Palestine Action
Other offices targeted include the ones in Manchester, Glasgow, Lancaster, Belfast, Brimingham, Bristol and Milton Keynes.
Allianz’s London operations in Gracechurch Street and Bishopsgate have also been targeted.
The vandalism coincides with the first anniversary of the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Palestine Action said the insurer is a major financial backer of Israel’s arms and weapons industry and described Allianz as one of Elbit System’s “principle institutional shareholders”.
An Allianz spokesperson said: “We have had disruption overnight at several of our offices. The safety and security of our colleagues is paramount and we have closed these sites today.
“Our operations and service to customers and clients are unaffected.”
His career began in 2019, when he joined a local north London newspaper after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a first-class honours degree in journalism.
He took up the position of deputy news editor at Insurance Times in March 2023, before being promoted to his current role in May 2024.View full Profile
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