From Italy to Canada, how the UK’s Palestine Action group went global

London, United Kingdom – In November 2023, protesters spray painted the Rome headquarters of Leonardo, an Italian weapons manufacturer with ongoing contracts with Israel. The group was inspired by a Palestine Action protest against Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory that same month, which resulted in the factory being shut down. “That was the first movement, where, in Italy, we felt we needed to do something,” said Luca, a representative from the group, simply named Palestine Action Italy. It is one of several global offshoots of the proscribed UK group, Palestine Action. Other groups sharing the Palestine Action name exist elsewhere, including in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, France and Canada.