Wrong country, stupid: Harebrained anti-Israel loons wreck military gear headed for Ukraine

A group of around 150 harebrained anti-Israel protesters accidentally wrecked a cache of military equipment headed for Ukraine.

Wearing white overalls and masks, the protesters, members of a group called “Stop Arming Israel,” barged into a Belgian storage facility on Monday thinking the facility contained military equipment for Israel.

The facility was owned by OIP Land Systems, a company that in fact produces armored vehicles specifically for Ukraine.

“The protesters, armed with hammers and grinders, first entered the company’s offices, where they smashed computers, and then broke into the hangars, where they severely damaged some vehicles,” causing $1.1 million in damage, according to The Kyiv Independent.

Why? The group reportedly has been trying to pressure the Belgian government to maintain an ongoing military embargo on Israel and impose sanctions on the Middle Eastern country as well.

But why would the protesters seek to destroy military equipment if it knew the country was no longer shipping them to Israel? Because of reports that some Belgian companies were ignoring the embargo:

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The problem, of course, was that OIP Land Systems wasn’t one of these companies. In fact, the company had NOTHING to do with Israel and everything to do with Ukraine.

“Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the company has supplied the Ukrainian army with about 260 armored vehicles,” The Kyiv Independent notes.

The protesters targeted the company anyway, thinking otherwise, partly because OIP Land Systems is owned by Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense company that’s been accused of supplying 85 percent of the Israel Defense Forces’ drones and most of its ground military equipment.

But OIP Land Systems CEO Freddy Versluys stressed to The Kyiv Independent that his company hasn’t produced military equipment for Israel in over 20 years.

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The good news was that the damage incurred because of the protesters was repairable.

“A further delivery [to Ukraine] has now been delayed by at least a month,” Versluys said. “That’s all these Hamas sympathizers will have achieved with their action.”

That and being arrested. At least 30 of the protesters were arrested during the raid Monday on OIP’s facility, according to United24 Media, and Versluys announced that OP will be filing complaints against the protesters.

Social media users, meanwhile, slammed “Stop Arming Israel” for its despicable behavior but also wondered whether the group is secretly allied with the Russian government.

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Vivek Saxena

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