CAMPAIGN groups in support of Palestine across Cumbria and further afield have initiated a call urging a Cumbrian firm to withdraw from their contracts producing material for F35 jet planes. 

According to the Campaigns Against Arms Trade (CAAT),  Technical Fibre Products Ltd (TFP), a subsidiary of James Cropper PLC based in Kendal, ‘produce nonwoven solutions for a number of cutting edge military aircraft and vehicles, including the F35.’

The CAAT claims 15 per cent of every F35 that Israel is using to bombard Gaza is made by British industry. 

Carlisle's Palestine Solidarity Group will be joining South Lakeland and Lancaster CND, Kendal for a Ceasefire, and Lancaster Palestine Solidarity, to ask Croppers to reconsider the "implications" of their supply chain.

To amplify their message, a leafleting event was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 12, coinciding with shift turnovers at Croppers at Burneside, with hopes of raising awareness amongst workers. 

The campaign follows after Carlisle’s weekly vigil for Palestine focused on International Women’s Day.

A spokesperson for Palestine Solidarity Group Carlisle & District said: "The lack of hospitals and medical supplies is having a tremendous impact on women, particularly those who are pregnant or giving birth.

In November, the World Health Organisation estimated there were around 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with more than 180 giving birth every day. 

With no safe spaces available for childbirth, expectant mothers are forced to deliver in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, including classrooms, tents, cars, and even amidst the rubble of destroyed homes or along the roadside as they flee from violence. 

The Carlisle solidarity group will continue their ‘Women’s’ theme this Friday (March, 16) as they present a film on the life and work of Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel. 

Advocate tells the story of Lea, an Israeli defending the rights of Palestinians before Israel's dual court system. 

The film screening will take place on Friday, March 15 at the Church of Scotland on Chapel Street. 

Members of the public are being invited to the event, with donations to MAP also being welcomed on the night. 

James Cropper PLC was approached for comment.