Sydney manufacturer of Israeli F-35 parts damaged in pro-Palestine action

Belmore manufacturer SEC Plating has a contract to manufacture components of war planes used in Gaza genocide

A Sydney factory accused of manufacturing parts of Israeli war planes has been damaged by pro-Palestine activists, potentially putting the facility out of commission.

In a media release sent out early on Tuesday morning, anonymous "Palestinian liberation activists" claimed to have damaged equipment at the SEC Plating manufacturing plant in Belmore. Photos supplied in the release show the SEC Plating factory frontage covered with red paint and the phrase "FREE GAZA" painted on a roller door.

The activists – who could not be reached for comment, as the email account from which the release was sent has since been deleted – also claimed to have posted a sign on SEC Plating's front door urging SEC workers to support the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions' October 2023 call for workers and unions worldwide to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

“ATTENTION WORKERS: Parts of this building are damaged. This may be an unsafe working area," the sign reads.

"SEC Plating has a contract to manufacture parts of F-35 war planes for Israel. Israel is using these planes to commit a genocide in Gaza. Over 60,000 people have been killed, including 20,000 children. This is increasing every day.

"SEC Plating’s contract helps Israel kill Palestinians. You, as workers, are not the target of this action, the contract is. Workers in Palestine have called on workers everywhere to interfere with supply chains that send weapons to Israel. You can answer their call and help push for SEC Plating’s contract to be cancelled.”

In 2011, SEC Plating sogned a contract to produce specialised components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jet on behalf of BAE Systems Australia, including "various mechanical assemblies that will contribute to the JSF’s on board Electronic Warfare system". Israel uses its fleet of F-35s to drop bombs on Gazan civilians, including in a February bombing on an IDF-designated "safe zone" in al-Mawasi that killed more than 90 people.

The Belmore facility has been the site of numerous protests regarding Israel's genocide in Gaza in recent months. Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas was hospitalised with a serious eye injury after NSW Police broke up a picket outside SEC Plating in June.

Video credit: Amanda King and Fabio Cavadini

Declassified Australia recently revealed that Australia directly sent F-35 parts from Sydney to Tel Aviv in July. In August, it was revealed that Australia is upholding at least 35 military export permits issued to Israel to remain active, despite consistent government denials that Australia exports arms to Israel.

Responding to questions in Parliament from Greens senator David Shoebridge about the shipping of F-35 parts in July, foreign minister Penny Wong said "as part of the global F-35 supply chain, we contribute components and parts that are non-lethal in nature".

"We've seen our government tell outright lies, repeatedly and unashamedly, about Australia's role in this genocide," the SEC Plating activists said in a statement.

"There is no such thing as a 'non-lethal part' of a fighter plane whose job it is to drop bombs on starving people in tents. Australia is the sole producer of some weapons components. If we stopped supplying these it would have real, material impacts on Israel's ability to keep massacring Palestinian people."

"As Israel ramps up its ground invasion, doubles down on its lethal man-made famine in the Gaza Strip, and continues to systematically target and assassinate Palestinian journalists and their families, there must be so much more than a conversation about recognition. There must be a halt to the two-way trade in weapons and parts with Israel, expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, and immediate sanctions on Israel."