Twickenham Stadium is once again hosting Defense iQ with two conferences to sell and promote weaponry and arms. The first conference is the International Armoured Vehicles between 22-25th of January and between the 27th-29th of February an International Military Helicopter Conference will be held.

Representatives from many repressive regimes such as China, Saudi Arabia, UAE and more will attend. Companies such as Elbit Systems, Leonardo and Raytheon who sell arms to Israel and have profiteered from the killing of 20,000 Gazans (and counting) are to be presenters, guests and sponsors at these events.

The companies sponsoring and speaking at these events are the same ones arming Israel with civilian-slaughtering weaponry

Elbit Systems, based in Israel with a subsidiary factory in Bristol, is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles. The arms giant supplies around 85 percent of the Israeli military's drone fleet, which has been used extensively in Israel's attacks on Gaza. Weapons designed and made by Elbit Systems have been devastating in the IDF's ongoing attacks. One such weapon is the Israeli Spike drone rocket, which can be modified to carry a fragmentation sleeve of thousands of 3mm tungsten cubes, said to affect an area of approximately 20 metres in diameter. The cubes puncture metal and "cause tissue to be torn from flesh", literally shredding anyone within range. These weapons are touted for their "precision", but in practice have been used against civilians.

Not only are the sponsors and speakers at these upcoming Twickenham Stadium conferences supplying devastating weapons to the Israeli military, they're bragging openly about the profits they're making from this war. Leonardo, which produces parts for Israeli fighter jets, has seen its market valuation grow by 20 percent since October 7. Raytheon, now known as RTX Corporation, has supplied Israel's Iron Dome since 2014. On an October 24 earnings call, RTX Corporation CEO Greg Hayes said that the defence contractor stood to "benefit" from a US Department of Defense's budget increase which would fund the supply of weapons to Israel: "I think really across the entire Raytheon portfolio, you're going to see a benefit of this restocking."

These are the companies that will be in Twickenham Stadium this month, the same ones making profits from supplying weapons that are enabling just about the clearest cut case for war crimes in living memory.

The biggest humanitarian organisations in the world including the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Save the Children have called for an end to the ongoing atrocities against Palestine. Even before the end of October, Save the Children announced that the number of children reported killed in Gaza had surpassed the annual number of children killed in armed conflict globally in each of the past four years. 

In November, the United Nations described Gaza as a "graveyard for children" and "living hell for everyone else". The scale of these crimes against every person in Gaza but particularly against Palestinian children is unprecedented: 

More than 10,000 children killed, or presumed dead - That is more than the number of ALL primary school children in Twickenham

18,000 Children injured in critical condition - That is the equivalent of 45 times the capacity of West Middlesex Hospitals

2 million people forced from their homes onto the streets in winter with only the clothes they're wearing - that's the equivalent of nearly 25 full Twickenham stadiums.

We recognise the need to use the stadium to raise funds for the RFU and English Rugby. But with such a world-class venue, the stadium has many choices with regards to whom they host. Weapons manufacturers and their industry bodies do have deep pockets with which they can pay venues whose consciences aren't troubled by the indiscriminate deaths caused by the industry.

Your neighbours from the Richmond & Kingston branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign are making unprecedented efforts to end Twickenham Stadium's relationship with these arms dealers.  Please join us - it's time to tell the Rugby Football Union to get arms dealers out of Twickenham Stadium.