Three pro Palestinian activists have ended a 73 day hunger strike after the British government denied Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems a two billion pound military training contract, marking what campaigners describe as a significant victory for their protest movement.
Kamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi and Lewie Chiaramello began eating again on Wednesday following news that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would not award Elbit Systems UK the contract to train 60,000 British troops annually. The decision came after allegations that the company breached business appointment rules during the bidding process.
Campaign group Prisoners for Palestine said the contract denial represented a key demand of the hunger strikers, who began their protest on November 2, known as Balfour Day, marking the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration that expressed British support for establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Muraisi, 31, and Ahmed, 28, began their hunger strike late last year as part of a group of eight imprisoned pro Palestinian activists protesting their lengthy pre trial detention and what they see as a crackdown on political dissent related to the war in Gaza. Chiaramello, who has Type 1 Diabetes and went on hunger strike every other day, was on day 46.
Ahmed was transferred to hospital six times during his protest and was reportedly at imminent risk of death last week due to lack of food. Both Muraisi and Ahmed are currently in hospital, according to their families and friends.
Four others who paused their hunger strike late last year, Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah, and Amu Gib, also agreed to end their action. All seven have begun refeeding in accordance with health guidelines. Umar Khalid remains the last continuing hunger striker, according to Prisoners for Palestine.
The hunger strike is believed to be the largest since the 1981 Irish republican hunger strike led by Bobby Sands, and represents one of the longest coordinated protests in modern British history.
The activists are being held on remand following arrests in November 2024 as part of what authorities call the Filton 24, accused of breaking into and vandalizing a research and development site near Filton, west of London, belonging to Elbit Systems. They have been held under terrorism charges without trial for more than a year, accused of causing one million pounds in criminal damage to an Elbit factory in Bristol.
The charges stem from alleged actions carried out before Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization under British law in July 2024. The Home Secretary at the time framed the ban as necessary to safeguard national security, though rights groups and civil liberties campaigners have criticized the move as governmental overreach to suppress legitimate protest.
The hunger strikers deny all charges and have called for them to be dropped. A judicial review of the Palestine Action ban is currently underway, with a decision expected at a later date.
The Ministry of Defence’s decision to deny Elbit the contract came after it was revealed that Elbit Systems UK was denied a vital two billion pound army training contract, a key demand of the hunger strikers. The 15 year deal was for the Collective Training Transformation Programme, which aimed to modernize training for British soldiers using advanced simulation and digitalization.
A whistleblower’s dossier alleged that former British brigadier Philip Kimber provided sensitive information to Elbit Systems UK shortly after leaving the army and attended internal company meetings regarding the bid. The Ministry of Defence faced criticism for allegedly delaying investigation of the whistleblower’s dossier for seven months, which officials attributed to administrative oversight.
According to The Times, Kimber was present in an Elbit meeting and sitting out of view of a camera, reportedly saying he should not be there. Other allegations concerned lunches and dinners hosted by Elbit UK where civil servants at the heart of the contract decision process were invited. One senior civil servant was dined by the company seven times, while rival Raytheon did not host events.
A senior civil servant completed an assurance review in September and found that business appointment rules had not been breached. However, the MoD ultimately awarded the contract to Raytheon UK, a subsidiary of the American defense giant, according to an MoD insider.
Chiaramello celebrated the outcome Wednesday, saying it was definitely a time for celebration. “A time to rejoice and to embrace our joy as revolution and as liberation. We do this because of Palestine, because we’ve been inspired, because we’ve been empowered to take action and to try to realise our dreams for a free Palestine, for an emancipated world”.
Prisoners for Palestine stated: “The abrupt cancellation of this deal is a resounding victory for the hunger strikers, who resisted with their incarcerated bodies in order to shed light on the role of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, in the colonisation and occupation of Palestine”.
The group emphasized that since Elbit won 25 public contracts in the UK totaling more than 333 million pounds since 2012, the loss of this two billion pound contract marks a significant shift in what they termed a sordid strategic alliance.
National leaders of prison healthcare met representatives of the hunger strike prisoners on Friday to discuss prison conditions and treatment recommendations, according to Prisoners for Palestine. During the hunger strike, some prisoners started receiving bulk packages of withheld mail, and in one case received an apology from prison staff for a letter delayed by six months. Books on topics of Gaza and feminism were also provided after months of waiting.
The group claimed additional victories during the strike period, stating that in recent weeks alone, hundreds of people signed up to take action against what they term the genocidal military industrial complex, exceeding the number who took action with Palestine Action over its five year campaign.
Muraisi, a lifeguard and florist with Yemeni heritage, described her physical deterioration in a statement given days before ending the strike. “Physically, I am deteriorating as the days go by. I no longer feel hunger, I feel pain. I don’t think about my life, I think about how or when I could die, but despite this, mentally I’ve never been stronger, more determined and sure, and most importantly, I feel calm and a great sense of ease,” she said.
Her next of kin, Francesca Nadin, said last week the hunger striker had been having difficulty breathing and thinking clearly due to the prolonged food refusal.
The hunger strikers’ broader demands included immediate release on bail, an end to what they describe as restrictions on their communications, reversal of the government ban on Palestine Action, access to proper medical care during their detention, and closure of the 16 sites where Elbit Systems operates in the UK.
Elbit Systems manufactures drones, artillery systems and surveillance technologies widely used by the Israel Defence Forces. Human rights groups and activists have repeatedly linked these systems to military operations that have killed large numbers of Palestinian civilians.
Campaign Against Arms Trade noted that Elbit provides approximately 85 percent of Israel’s drones and land based military equipment, and has played a major role in supplying weaponry for Israel’s military operations in Gaza. A United Nations Special Rapporteur report from July 2025 named Elbit as central to Israel’s plausibly genocidal conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The company has faced sustained pressure from activist groups in Britain for years. Palestine Action specifically targeted Elbit facilities across the country through direct action campaigns including occupations, property damage, and disruptions to operations.
The proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization made membership in the group a criminal offense and marked a significant escalation in how British authorities respond to pro Palestinian activism. The move sparked widespread criticism from civil liberties organizations who argue it criminalizes legitimate political protest.
Prisoners for Palestine said in a statement: “While these prisoners end their hunger strike, the resistance has just begun. Banning a group and imprisoning our comrades has backfired on the British state, direct action is alive and the people will drive Elbit out of Britain for good”.
The first phase of the Filton trial is currently underway alongside the judicial review of Palestine Action’s proscription. Several pro Palestinian activists and politicians have criticized the Labour government for not meeting with the families of the prisoners and addressing their demands during the hunger strike.
The prolonged hunger strike drew international attention and raised questions about British detention practices, medical care for prisoners engaging in hunger strikes, and the broader government approach to pro Palestinian activism in the context of the Gaza conflict.
Medical experts have repeatedly warned about the severe health consequences of prolonged hunger strikes, particularly when individuals refuse both food and water. The fact that several strikers required hospitalization and were deemed at imminent risk of death underscores the extreme nature of the protest tactic.
Britain has faced criticism from human rights organizations over its handling of the detained activists, with some arguing the extended pre trial detention and medical neglect of hunger strikers constitute human rights violations. The government maintains that all detention is lawful and that proper medical care has been provided throughout.
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment but has not issued a public statement regarding the end of the hunger strikes or the conditions under which the activists have been held.
Four former senior British army officers recently wrote to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging the government to end involvement with Israeli owned or Israeli supported weapons companies. “Now is not the time to return to business as usual with the Israeli government,” they wrote, urging harsher sanctions.
A parliamentary Early Day Motion filed in December expressed deep concern about the possibility of awarding the contract to Elbit, noting warnings from parliamentarians, human rights organizations and legal experts that proceeding would risk making the UK more complicit in war crimes being committed against the Palestinian people.
The contract decision comes amid broader debate in Britain about the country’s defense relationships with Israel, particularly regarding companies directly involved in supplying weapons systems used in Gaza. The Labour government has faced pressure from within its own ranks to take stronger positions on arms sales and defense contracts with Israeli firms.
Whether the denial of this specific contract represents a broader shift in British policy toward Israeli defense companies or reflects only the specific circumstances of the whistleblower allegations and bidding irregularities remains unclear. The government has not indicated any general policy change regarding defense relationships with Israel.
For the hunger strikers and their supporters, however, the outcome represents vindication of their protest tactics and proof that sustained activism can influence government procurement decisions. The coming months will reveal whether this momentum translates into broader changes in British defense contracting or remains an isolated incident driven by specific compliance concerns.
The activists’ willingness to risk death through hunger strike underscores the intensity of conviction among pro Palestinian activists in Britain regarding what they view as their government’s complicity in Israeli military actions. Whether such extreme protest tactics become more common or whether this represents an exceptional case will likely depend on how authorities handle the ongoing legal proceedings and whether political pressure succeeds in shifting broader policy.
