After six British pro-Palestinian activists were acquitted last week of aggravated burglary over a 2024 raid on Israeli defense firm Elbit’s factory, the Crown Prosecution Service said Saturday it will seek a retrial in the case, amid sharp criticism from lawmakers, police leaders and Jewish organizations.

The verdict cleared members of the now-banned group Palestine Action in an attack on Israeli defense company Elbit Systems’ UK factory in Filton, near Bristol. Prosecutors said the raid caused roughly £1 million ($1.4 million) in damage and left a police officer with a fractured spine after she was struck with a sledgehammer.

In announcing the move, the CPS said it was reviewing the legal basis for a retrial but did not specify which of the six defendants — known as the “Filton 6” — could face fresh proceedings.

“Prosecutors are now considering the precise basis on which that retrial would proceed, including the form of the indictment, in accordance with CPS legal guidance,” a CPS spokesperson said. The next hearing is scheduled for February 18.

The decision to seek a retrial followed a public backlash from British lawmakers and Jewish groups, charging that the verdict set a dangerous precedent.

After the jury gave its rulings last Wednesday, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp wrote to Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson urging him to seek a retrial, warning the verdict “risks giving the green light to mob violence in pursuit........

© The Times of Israel