An Israeli arms manufacturer has shut down its Bristol facility after repeated protests by the activist group Palestine Action.

The Elbit Systems UK site in the Aztec West business park had been repeatedly targeted by Palestine Action, including on July 1, just days before the direct action group was banned under the so-called “Terrorism Act.”

Protests against the facility involved blockades with lock-ons, roof occupations, window-smashing, and dousing the site in red paint.

Elbit Systems UK had held the lease since 2019, which was not due to expire until 2029. The company is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, which reported revenues of $6.8 billion (£5 billion) last year.

Elbit Systems describes itself as the “backbone” of the Israeli army’s drone fleet, which has been deployed extensively in the genocidal assault on Gaza.

Its portfolio also includes systems for military aircraft, helicopters, armed remote-controlled boats, land vehicles, and command and control.

According to the Guardian, when reporters visited the site this week, it was deserted. No staff were present apart from a security guard stationed in a vehicle outside the premises.

The facility was previously owned by Somerset Council, which Palestine Action also targeted before selling the property last year.

Fences and barriers had been erected around the building after repeated protests.

The Aztec West facility is separate from Elbit’s Filton site in Bristol, which was also targeted by Palestine Action and linked to ongoing legal proceedings against 24 activists awaiting trial.

Before being proscribed, Palestine Action ran a campaign targeting Elbit’s UK facilities and partner firms, a campaign that intensified after Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

Elbit Systems UK’s latest accounts show an operating loss of £4.7m last year, compared with a profit of £3.8m in 2023.

Andrew Feinstein, an expert on the global arms trade and former member of the South African national assembly, described the closure as “extremely significant.”

“We need to remind ourselves that Elbit (Systems) is one of the two most important Israeli arms firms, along with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), that is it is obviously a key component of Israel’s military industrial complex,” he added.

Last year, Elbit Systems UK sold its West Midlands-based subsidiary Elite KL (now Calatherm) after Elite KL’s operating profit fell by 75% in 2022.

The company said the sale was primarily due to rising security costs after its Tamworth facility was targeted by Palestine Action.

The new owners announced they would cut ties with Elbit Systems and cancel its military contracts.

In 2022, Elbit also sold Ferranti P&C, part of its Oldham-based business, following 18 months of protests by Palestine Action and Oldham Peace.

Last month, Private Eye revealed that Elbit Systems UK was part of a consortium close to securing a £2bn contract that would make it a “strategic partner” of Britain’s ministry of military affairs.

The Financial Times reported that former Labor cabinet minister Peter Hain had written to defense secretary Jon Healey, urging him not to award the contract to Elbit, citing “the devastation unfolding in Gaza.”

Palestine Action has been granted permission for a judicial review in November of the decision to proscribe the group.

However, at a Court of Appeal hearing on September 25, the home secretary is expected to challenge that permission.