Over 65 organisations from Scotland to Cornwall are uniting to shut down the UK’s largest arms fair

66 national and regional organisations – from Scotland to Cornwall – are uniting and mobilising for The Big One – a coalition action to shut down one of the world’s biggest – and the UK’s largest – arms fairs.

Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) is taking place at the ExCeL centre in London between 9th-12th September.  The Big One: Shut Down DSEI 2025 aims to build a mass mobilisation to stop the arms fair taking place on its first day. 

In 2023, 1500 exhibitors, including the world’s largest and worst arms dealers, networked with 35000 delegates representing nearly 100 countries. This included official government invited delegations from Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Bahrain, Turkey and Qatar. 

Israel always plays a prominent role at DSEI, with the UK government inviting an official Israeli government delegation. If this happens in 2025, it will be our government continuing to roll out the red carpet to legitimise and enable war criminals coming to shop for even deadlier weapons to wage their genocide against the Palestinian people. 

DSEI is currently advertising the presence of Israel’s country pavilion. While it has not yet published its list of exhibitors, several Israeli arms companies are confirmed as attending, including Israel Aerospace Industries, who are promoting their presence with a brochure of military equipment Israel has used to commit genocide in Gaza. 

In 2023, in addition to Brigadier General Dr Danny Gold, head of the directorate of defense research and development for the Israeli Ministry of Defence, giving a keynote speech, 48 domestic Israeli arms companies exhibited at the event. These are companies that are directly responsible for, and directly profiting from, Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the war crimes it is committing in the West Bank and Lebanon. 

The call to action states:

“DSEI is a marketplace in death and destruction. It takes place every two years and is where arms dealers and politicians meet and make deals for genocide, war, and more human rights abuses. This is where they stock up on the latest lethal weapons and tools for repression – all with the backing of the British state.

“British colonial violence did not end when hard-fought liberation struggles were waged around the globe. Instead, as empires crumbled, global colonial and imperialist forces adapted. Now, arms fairs, like DSEI UK, continue to back the profiteers of state-led death, occupation and violence that has never ceased.

“This is where war starts. This is where repressive border policies start. This is where torture starts. This is where the contacts are made and the lucrative deals done that fuel genocide, war crimes and human rights abuses around the world. This is why we have to shut it down”.

It continues:

“DSEI is massively important to the British government. We can shut it down – but only if we have numbers! It is hoping we’ll be scared to take to the streets. But we say no! We say we’ll stop genocide profiteers in their tracks. This is our moment to come together, across our movements, to show that proscription won’t stop us taking actions against the arms trade.”

A spokesperson for the coalition said:

“Our government is allowing Israeli war criminals to come to London to buy and sell more weapons to further fuel their genocide against the Palestinian people. This is not only illegal and immoral, it is downright evil. We cannot allow this to happen. This is a government complicit in genocide, that lies about arms sales and that has lost all legitimacy. 

“It hoped that banning Palestine Action would stop direct action against the arms trade. But the number of national and regional groups endorsing our coalition shows this has failed. Across the country, people are mobilising and showing they are willing to do what is necessary to shut DSEI down.”

Notes to editors:

1. The full list of supporting groups: Al-Adli Justice (Pro Bono), ASA Palestine, Autonomous Animal Action, Birmingham Liberated Zone, Blackburn4Palestine, BLM Cardiff & Vale, Boaters Rising Now, Books Against Borders, Boycott Culture, CAAT, Chorley4Palestine, Climate Resistance, Clapton Community FC, Community Camp for Palestine, CODEPINK Britain, Corporate Watch, Cornwall Resists, Corruption Tracker, Dalston Solidarity Cafe, Defend SOAS 2, Direct Confrontation Media – Borroka Toufan, Disarm Bristol, Disarm Education, Edinburgh IWW, Elbit out of Leicester, Energy Embargo for Palestine, Filton 24, Greenwich 4 Palestine, Haringey for a Free Palestine, Haringey Justice for Palestinians, Healthcare Workers and Allies for Palestine, Healthcare Workers for a Free Palestine, Huddersfield Freedom for Palestine, India Labour Solidarity, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network – UK, Intersectional Brighton, Islington PSC, Jewish Network for Palestine, KCL Stands 4 Justice, Kernow Antifascist Network, Kites4Palestine, LammyOut, Leicester Action for Palestine, London CAAT, London for a Free Palestine, Newcastle AOC, Newcastle PSC, Olive Branch Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Cornwall, Palestine Solidarity Zone, West London, Palestinaforum, Palestinian Youth Movement, Parents for Palestine, People Against Rafael, Pompey Resistance Collective, QMUL Action for Palestine, Queers for Palestine, Shadow World Investigations, SDL Southampton, Stop Booking Apartheid Manchester, Stop the Arms Fair, Strike Outset, Target Leonardo, Youth Demand, Youth Front for Palestine, Yorkshire Palestine Collective

2. Screenshots and copy of the Israel Aerospace Industries presence are available on request if the link is not working.