On Sunday, 1 February, a coalition of local community groups in Croydon, including the Resistance Kitchen, mobilised for a day of action to expose Croydon’s complicity in genocide in Gaza.
Croydon Council has poured £122 million into companies directly linked to the violence, including a £94,000 investment in Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems. Elbit Systems proudly declares itself the backbone of the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, producing 85% of Israel’s combat drone fleet. The company operates 16 factories across the UK which, in defiance of United Nations arms embargoes, have supplied weapons fuelling the genocide in Gaza. During the day of action, campaigners reported Elbit Systems UK to the police for its role in war crimes.
Alongside the Resistance Kitchen, the coalition included Croydon PSC, Croydon Community Action, Croydon Green Party, Croydon Trade Union Congress, Crystal Palace Friends of Palestine, Croydon for Palestine, Croydon Stand Up to Racism, South Norwood Community Kitchen, and Croydon Your Party.
Sarah Jones & The Hunger Strikers
The day began at 11 a.m. with a vibrant rally at North End opposite Barclays Bank, driven by the energy of drummers from Rhythms of Resistance.
From there, protesters marched to the Whitgift Centre, home to the constituency office of local MP Sarah Jones. As a minister in the Labour government, Sarah Jones is part of an administration that continues to supply arms, intelligence, and political cover to Israel during its campaign of mass destruction in Gaza.
Demonstrators tried to deliver a letter demanding action after her failure to act over the case of Palestine hunger striker Teuta Hoxha, her constituent, who nearly lost her life after two months without food. Teuta is one of the Filton 24, a group of 24 activists held without trial for over a year for allegedly disabling killer drones at an Elbit factory in Bristol. The Resistance Kitchen had already written to Sarah Jones and also raised the abuse in prison of local resident Fatema Zainab Rajwani, another Filton 24 detainee, and this too has been ignored.
Security State And The Right To Protest
Protesters reported facing heavy restrictions on their right to assemble and speak. At North End, they were surveilled by six live facial recognition (LFR) cameras, part of the UK’s first permanent LFR installation.
A study conducted at the same location by the Resistance Kitchen in September 2024 revealed that 83% of people stopped by the Metropolitan Police’s LFR cameras were wrongfully targeted. The study further documented systemic racism: Black suspects, all later proven innocent, were immediately handcuffed before identity checks and often detained for over 30 minutes, while white suspects were never handcuffed and were released much faster.
The demonstration drew a significant police presence. When an activist attempted to use a megaphone to explain what the protest was about, officers surrounded and threatened him with arrest.
A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is enforced across Croydon town centre, and its boundaries were recently extended with additional restrictions that criminalise the use of amplified sound. The consultation documents for the PSPO shows it was at the request of the police and Croydon BID that the banning of amplified sound was added to the PSPO. Croydon BID rangers are a private security force paid for by big business in Croydon. The petition by Croydon Green councillors that it’s addition “could limit local
people’s ability to protest, thereby curtailing freedom of expression” was ignored. Protest is about being seen and heard, but this PSPO effectively silences demonstrators and represents a clear infringement on the right to protest.
When the march reached the Whitgift Centre, management closed off entrances, pulled down shutters, and deployed private security to block access. Only a small delegation of three people was permitted entry, under escort by two police officers. Although the Whitgift Centre functions as a public place, its private ownership allowed management to deny access entirely. Activists pointed out that a public representative’s office should never require police escort or private permission for constituents to be heard.
Even then, they found the Management Suite in which Sarah Jones’s office is located locked, without a letterbox, preventing the delivery of their letter. This was despite prior communication from Croydon TUC requesting a meeting. Between police surveillance, council overreach, and the expansion of privately controlled spaces, demonstrators said, there is now almost no truly public space left in Croydon town centre.
Divest Now!
The march continued to Croydon Town Hall in a solemn procession symbolising the deaths of over 20,000 Palestinian children, represented by a child’s coffin carried at the front to the slow beat of drums.
Outside the Town Hall, local Green councillor Ria Patel addressed the crowd, speaking on behalf of the Croydon Divest Coalition, of which the Resistance Kitchen is a member. She described how the coalition has campaigned for over a year demanding that Croydon Council divest from companies complicit in genocide. FOI data confirmed that the Council’s pension fund maintains £122 million in such firms, including producers of banned cluster munitions like Elbit Systems and Lockheed Martin.
These investments contravene the UK’s obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits their use, production and transfer. Furthermore the UK, along with at least 38 other signatories, have explicitly stated that investments in cluster munitions production is a form of assistance that is prohibited by the convention.
Other local pension funds, such as the Merseyside Pension Fund, have already divested from cluster munitions to comply with these legal obligations.
Investigations verified by multiple arms experts, including Amnesty International’s crisis research team, confirmed that Israel used banned cluster munitions in Lebanon in late 2025. Photos from the site showed fragments of M999 Barak-Eitan cluster munitions shells made by Elbit Systems.
When campaigners attempted to raise the issue at the December 2025 full council meeting, their question on the legality of investing in Elbit Systems was censored. They were forbidden from mentioning Elbit, Israel, or even the censorship itself.
Last year, the Resistance Kitchen published a detailed report titled ‘Homes Not Bombs – The Case for Divestment’, arguing that Croydon Council should move its pension investments from arms manufacturers into social housing. FOI requests showed the council built only 17 homes in 2024 and 12 in 2023, while Shelter recorded 7,576 homeless residents in Croydon that same year. The report contends that investing in social housing would not only meet urgent community needs but also strengthen the council’s pension fund returns in line with its fiduciary duty. Recently the Mayor of London has also encouraged London council pension funds to move investments into social housing.
More than 1,200 Croydon residents have written letters calling for divestment. Yet the council has stalled, ignored public pressure, censored debate, and employed delaying tactics to avoid addressing the issue.
Reporting Elbit
The final stage of the protest took the group to Croydon Police Station, where activists formally reported Elbit Systems UK for war crimes and demanded a criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit.
Their letter, signed by local community organisations read:
Commissioner Mark Rowley
Metropolitan Police Service Headquarters
1 February 2026
Dear Commissioner Rowley,
We are writing on behalf of concerned local residents of Croydon who are deeply disturbed that a company operating in the UK – Elbit Systems UK – is involved in acts amounting to genocide in Gaza with total impunity.
The Metropolitan Police Service oversees the War Crimes Investigations Unit of SO15, giving you direct authority to conduct investigations. We urge you to launch an investigation into Elbit Systems UK for suspected war crimes in Gaza, which we believe violate both international and UK laws.
Attached are a detailed letter outlining the legal basis for a criminal investigation, that was sent by over 1,000 concerned citizens, and a follow-up letter from 75 community organisations calling for immediate action.
We await your response detailing the measures you intend to take.
Yours sincerely,
Signed:
- Croydon Palestine Solidarity Campaign
- Croydon Community Action
- Resistance Kitchen
- Croydon Green Party
- Croydon Trades Union Congress
- Crystal Palace Friends of Palestine
- Croydon for Palestine
- Croydon Stand Up to Racism
- South Norwood Community Kitchen
- Croydon Your Party
Attached were detailed legal arguments and evidence of the company’s complicity.
A symbolic child’s coffin containing documentation, export licence records, and other evidence was handed in alongside the letters. The police issued a crime reference number, confirming that the case had been officially logged in the police national system and would proceed to review and investigation.
This action marks the third phase of a nationwide grassroots campaign demanding criminal investigation into Elbit Systems UK. Resistance Kitchen has developed an online toolkit to help local groups report Elbit to their nearest police station. Croydon is now the eighth location to do so since November.
Further information is available at
Local Campaign – Demand Criminal Investigation Into Elbit Systems UK
Other Interesting Posts:
Croydon Supports Palestine Hunger Strike
Croydon Council Suppresses Public Scrutiny Of Investment in Elbit Systems
Local Campaign – Demand Criminal Investigation Into Elbit Systems UK
75 Community Groups Demand Criminal Investigation Into Elbit Systems UK
Police Ignore Over 1000 Letters Demanding Criminal Investigation Into Elbit Systems UK
Help Send 1000 Letters – Demand Criminal Investigation Into Elbit Systems UK
Demand Criminal Investigation Into Elbit Systems UK
Croydon Demands Council Divest From Genocide
Croydon Divest – Protest Pension Committee Head
Help Send 1000 Letters – Croydon Council Divest From Genocide
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