Barclays banks in the UK are targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters

Branches of Barclays bank in England and Scotland were covered in red paint and had windows smashed in protests by a pro-Palestinian group.

Up to 20 buildings were targeted, according to the group Palestine Action.

It said the protests were carried out to “demand the bank’s withdrawal from Israel’s arms and fossil fuel trade”.

A Barclays spokesman said: “While we support the right to protest, we ask campaigners to do so in a way that respects our customers, colleagues and property.”

In Bristol, the windows of a city center branch of Barclays Bank were smashed and red graffiti sprayed over the building.

Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, stones inscribed with the names of Palestinians killed in the conflict were thrown at a Barclays building, protesters said.

Police in the City of London said three men, aged between 34 and 45, were arrested on Monday morning in connection with criminal damage at Barclays in Moorgate.

It is one of the branches in the capital that have been targeted.

They included those in St John’s Wood, north London, Croydon, Richmond, south-west London and Peckham and Croydon in south London.

Meanwhile, branches in Stockport and Bury, both in Greater Manchester, and in Preston, Lancashire, have been daubed with red paint and damaged.

Protesters also struck in Glasgow, Brighton, Exeter, Sheffield, Northampton, Birmingham and Solihull, Palestine Action said.

Shut the System, a recently launched underground climate movement, collaborated with the underground division of Palestine Action to launch the attacks, both activist groups confirmed.

According to the groups, the targeted actions will continue until Barclays stops investing in certain companies.

A Barclays spokesman said the bank “provides vital financial services to public companies in the US, UK and Europe that supply defense products to NATO and its allies”.

“The defense sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK government has been clear that supporting defense companies is compatible with ESG considerations,” the spokesperson added.

“Decisions regarding the implementation of arms embargoes to other nations are the responsibility of the respective elected governments.”

During the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, Hamas killed approximately 1,200 people and took approximately 251 hostages.

About 116 remain in the Palestinian territory, including 41 who the army says are dead.

On Saturday, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said the death toll in Gaza was 37,084.