u/Equivalent_Style_835

>As you’ve probably noticed, I decided to represent myself in this trial. Not because my barrister was doing a bad job or anything – we’ve actually become close friends – and I’m constantly telling the others I have the best barrister. I am so grateful for everything she has done for me, in this trial and the last. But this time I wanted to be able to speak to you myself. 

>During this trial you’ve heard some very important evidence. You’ve heard that there are factories on British soil making weapons to send to Israel. You’ve heard that the drones they make include Thor VTOL Quadcopters used to drop grenades, drones that are advertised as ‘battle tested’ on Palestinians. You’ve heard that drones use AI to target children, and that Magni X surveillance drones work in tandem with ‘killer drones’, and that Research & Development carried out in the UK is vital to the Israeli military. You’ve also heard that the Filton site was opened by the Israeli Ambassador, that it has export licences to Israel, that Elbit itself is the ‘backbone’ of the Israeli military.

>You heard how we tried every democratic means available to us, including demonstrations, fundraisers, encampments, petitions, writing to MPs, stickers leading to Amnesty International information about the apartheid, vigils, arms factory pickets, the list goes on. And how none of it worked. You heard how direct action is effective, how it ended apartheid during the civil rights movement in America, how it is being used in the UK today to shut down weapons factories, 4 of which have been closed permanently.

>You’ve heard that after we destroyed these drones we were arrested for terrorism – were held incommunicado – spent 18 months in prison without trial. You’ve heard that this is a retrial.

>After hearing the 6 of us give evidence you might think it odd that what’s happening in Palestine has gone completely unmentioned, you might have noticed certain words that have been blacklisted, that until our closing speeches the word genocide wasn’t said once. There have been interruptions from the prosecution, quick subject changes from our barristers – it’s almost as if whole topics of conversation have been banned. The prosecution know full well that we are right that this factory is supplying weapons to Israel to be used in Gaza. That is why they are choosing to suppress it rather than contest it. The prosecution have decided that the legality of Israel’s actions is irrelevant in this trial. Because they know you could not in good conscience find us guilty of anything if you were allowed to hear the whole truth. 

I really recommend this movie for anyone interested in the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt. It’s a crucial watch because it shows that the events of 1948 didn't happen in a vacuum, they were the direct result of British imperial policy a decade earlier.

The movie focuses on how the British paved the road for the Zionist state. It highlights how the British saw the European Jewish settlers as a useful tool to secure their own interests, specifically to protect the Suez Canal and the oil pipelines ending in Haifa. By backing the settlers, the British ensured they had a loyal, European-aligned population to help them maintain control over the Middle East.

The film covers the Peel Commission, which followed the Palestinian general strikes against the British preference for European settlers over the native population. The Commission concluded with a proposal to partition the land, which would have meant the forced "transfer" (ethnic cleansing) of more than 225,000 Palestinians to give the land to European Jews. This was the moment Palestinians fully realized the British intention was to replace them.

The British faced the uprising with brutal force. It is documented that 10% of Palestinian adult males were either killed, wounded, imprisoned, or exiled. This targeted the most significant Palestinian leaders, creating a political void and leaving the native population "leaderless" and unable to oppose the plan of stealing their land.

While the British were disarming Palestinians, they were actively equipping the European Jewish settlers with military support. They formed the Special Night Squads, led by British officer Orde Wingate (the "father of the IDF"), to train settlers in modern warfare.

Future Israeli leaders like Moshe Dayan and Yigal Allon learned night raids, intelligence gathering, and mobile warfare directly from the British Army.

The British authorized and armed thousands of these settlers as "auxiliary police," allowing the Haganah (the settler militia) to expand and train under British protection.

While the Peel Commission wasn’t fully realized in 1937 due to Palestinian resistance, the British succeeded in their main goal: they broke the back of the Palestinian movement. When the Nakba happened in 1947-48, it wasn't a fair fight. It was a structurally centralized, British-trained army of European settlers against a native resistance whose leaders had already been killed or exiled by the British years prior.

Palestine 36 is a powerful reminder that the colonization of Palestine was a calculated, violent process led by the British Empire to ensure their own regional power at the expense of the native people.