Activists block Rheinmetall factory to protest arms supplies to Israel

Activists blocked entrances to a Rheinmetall facility in Berlin on Friday, protesting the German defense contractor’s role in supplying weapons to Israel amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Anadolu reports.

Members of the group “Peacefully Against Genocide” sat in front of the gates at the site in the Wedding district, gluing their hands to the pavement. They chanted slogans including “Freedom for Palestine,” “Stop the genocide” and “Israel bombs, Germany finances.”

Police later arrived and used special solvents to dissolve the glue before detaining the protesters.

One demonstrator, Hannes Sommerkamp, said in a social media statement that the action targeted weapons production linked to civilian casualties.

“While we are sitting here, Israel continues to kill people in Gaza, in the West Bank, across all of Palestine. Israel is attacking Lebanon, attacking Iran, killing people every day,” he said. “And here in Berlin, right in the middle of Wedding, weapons are to be produced that are used to kill these people. Rheinmetall supplies the Israeli army and thereby enables the ongoing genocide across West Asia. The killing of people begins here, right in the middle of Berlin.”

Another activist, who identified herself as Lana, accused both the company and the German government of complicity.

“Rheinmetall earns billions with the killing of people. And the federal government allows it,” she said. “They approve the weapons production, they approve the weapons deliveries to Israel. While Israel expands its attacks on Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, Germany continues to supply weapons. The German government and Rheinmetall thereby make themselves accomplices to the genocide in Palestine and to all the crimes that Israel commits.”

Rheinmetall is one of Germany’s largest defense contractors, manufacturing military vehicles, weapons systems and ammunition. The company has significantly ramped up production in recent years amid rising global demand for defense equipment.

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