Scores march to arms factory calling for ceasefire in Israel-Gaza conflict

More than 100 people took to the streets through Brighton in a demonstration against the L3Harris arms factory in Moulsecoomb.

Protesters waved placards and flags and wrote the names of Palestinian children killed in the conflict on messages left outside the factory on Saturday afternoon.

Parts manufactured in the factory are used in fighter jets which are sold to Israel and used in their offensive in the middle east.

Anya and Ruby, who supported the march, said they joined the event as they felt “silly” watching events and not “trying to make a difference”.

Anya, left, and Ruby, right, at The Level before the march (Image: The Argus)

Anya said: “It’s awful that people in power can watch this and think that it’s okay. It shouldn’t have to be like this.”

Ruby added: “We want to spread awareness, something needs to be done about this.”

Protesters at the march gathered at The Level before heading towards Moulsecoomb train station and to Home Farm Business Park in Moulsecoomb, where the factory is based.

Protest signs left at the L3Harris factory (Image: Supplied)

The group heard speeches from several speakers including arms trade expert Anna Stavrianakis, a professor at the University of Sussex.

Professor Stavrianakis told The Argus: “This march feels like a moment of hope in a really bleak situation.

“I think without these marches people wouldn’t know that there is an arms factory in our city. When I told friends and family they were really surprised. They don’t associate the city with war making.

“It’s up to us to draw attention to it. We’re challenging the preparation for war and the presence of an arms factory in our city.”

The protest centres around concerns that bomb racks from the L3Harris factory are used to build F-35 fighter jets which are subsequently sold to Israel through the United States government Foreign Military Sales Process.

Social media posts from the Israeli Defence Force suggest that F-35 planes are among those being used in Gaza.

Protesters called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and rallied against L3Harris.

They also called for a retrospective planning application currently before Brighton and Hove City Council to be rejected.