Protests near US city of St Louis over Boeing's weapons for Israel

Demonstrators gathered for a second time at a Boeing facility near the US city of St. Louis to protest the company's manufacturing and sales of warplanes and bombs for Israel.

The protests on Tuesday afternoon, organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee, drew around 150 Palestinians and allies from the St. Louis area for around two hours for a march from a park to Boeing 598's main gate in an attempt to disrupt operations at the company's vast facility in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles in Missouri.

"We were outside Boeing today to demand that Boeing stop manufacturing bombs and warplanes used by the Israeli military," Su Mac, a Palestinian artist from St. Louis who took part in Tuesday's march and demonstration, told The New Arab. 

"We wanted to go to the Boeing facility to demand a ceasefire and remind them that there's blood on their hands," she said. "These are bombs that are made in our backyards and they're getting away with it."

Protesters stood outside Boeing's heavily guarded facility carrying Palestinian flags and holding banners bearing the names and ages of Palestinians killed in the conflict.

One sign read: "Each Child of Gaza is One of Our Own", and another sign read: "Boeing Arms Genocide, while multiple signs read: Free Palestine and Ceasefire Now."

Boeing, one the top US weapons manufacturers for Israel, has increasingly come under the spotlight since Israel began its indiscriminate war in Gaza in response to Hamas's 7 October surprise attack on Israel.

Around 1,200 Israelis were killed on October 7 while over 14,000 Palestinians have been killed in six weeks of ferocious bombardment of Gaza that has targeted schools and hospitals and flattened residential areas.

Boeing's facility in St. Charles manufactures the F-15 fighter jet, one of the main warplanes used by the Israeli military.

According to a report by Bloomberg, following the 7 October attack, Boeing rushed the delivery of 1,800 bomb kits to Israel which convert free-fall bombs into munitions that can be guided.

Since the beginning of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, there have been multiple demonstrations against US weapons sales and shipments to Israel.

Earlier this month, a reported shipment from the Port of Oakland in California was blocked for several hours. There was a similar demonstration days later in Tacoma in the state of Washington. There was also another demonstration at a Boeing facility in Oregon this week.

The US is by far the biggest source of weapons for Israel, and has significantly escalated the delivery of arms since 7 October.