Protesters have disrupted operations at a Wollongong plant which makes armoured steel in an escalation of protest activity over exports to Israel.<\/p>\n
Up to 100 protesters used signs and camp equipment to block two main gates at Bisalloy Steel in Unanderra on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
Bisalloy Steel is Australia’s only manufacturer of quenched and tempered steel plates suitable for armour applications.<\/p>\n
It has previously supplied Israeli arms company, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.<\/p>\n
Protesters said they were participating in the action because they believed Bisalloy’s steel trade with Israel was aiding the Israeli Defence Force, making the company complicit in the killing of civilians.<\/p>\n
In a statement to the ABC, a Bisalloy spokesperson said the company only export its product “with the appropriate government approvals”.<\/p>\n
“[Bisalloy] does not manufacture steel products for the use in bullets, missiles or similar weapons,” it said.<\/p>\n
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Safaa Rayan credited the shift changes to the picket activity. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)<\/p>\n
Protest organiser and Palestinian woman, Safaa Rayan, said anticipated shift change overs at 11pm and 7am did not proceed, with no workers attempting to access or leave the site.<\/p>\n
“It’s now 7:02am,” Ms Rayan said outside the factory on Monday.<\/p>\n
“We cannot see any employees, there is no police presence which says to us that right now there is no shift change which means that we have succeeded in disrupting their operations for at least 24 hours.”<\/p>\n
The company did not confirm if it altered planned work as a result of the protests.<\/p>\n
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Protesters blocked the entrance to Bisalloy Steel’s Unanderra plant. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)<\/p>\n
The protest came amid deteriorating conditions for Palestinians in Gaza recent weeks, with major aid agencies sounding the alarm about mass starvation<\/a>, prompting Israel to open corridors<\/a> for aid.<\/p>\n