A new militant group named The Earthquake Faction has claimed responsibility for the arson attack on a defense facility in the Czech Republic linked to Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.
On March 20, a fire broke out in the complex of Czech defense firm LPP Holding. Czech investigators confirmed the fire was deliberately set.
Shortly after the arson itself, Earthquake Faction published a communiqué on its website saying it had “struck the epicenter of the Israeli weapons industry in Europe.”
“In Pardubice, Czech Republic, Elbit Systems’ ‘Center of Excellence’ was newly built in collaboration with LPP to service the global expansion of Israel’s biggest weapons producer. Whilst the development, production, and training center was empty, the Earthquake Faction intervened to destroy its equipment and set the factory ablaze,” it added.
Except the LLP-Elbit collaboration never progressed. LLP said its plans to cooperate with Elbit Systems on drone production were never implemented, and “No Israeli drones have ever been manufactured at [LLP’s] facility.”
Earthquake Faction also claimed to have stolen “restricted documents and burned the rest to the ground.” It gave LLP an ultimatum: cut all ties with Elbit by April 20 at 7 a.m. and denounce the “barbaric occupation of Palestine,” or it will release the documents to the public.
So who is Earthquake Faction?
The new group’s website was registered on March 19, one day before the arson attack on March 20. It also created a Telegram channel the same day, but this has since been taken down. Within 72 hours of the Telegram channel being published, it had already amassed over 3,600 subscribers, which may suggest a pre-existing network of sympathizers or a coordinated promotion.
On its website, Earthquake Faction describes itself as “an internationalist underground network that targets key sites critical to the Zionist entity,” declaring its intent to “destroy all limbs of empire from within, by any means effective.”
The rhetoric used is hyperbolic. In the communiqué about the arson, the group writes, “We are in the belly of the beast, surrounded by the stench of evil. The technology, weaponry, and capital needed to maintain the imperial and Zionist violence are all within our reach. The Earthquake Faction will shake the ground under the boots of the colonizers; while even an atom’s weight of their evil remains, we will strike it out.”
The website features pictures and videos from inside the LLP complex and offices, as well as footage of masked individuals setting the fire. There are versions without music and versions with the song ‘Killing in the Name,’ by Rage Against The Machine.
The website also asks for funding, saying, “We need money to cover our next hit.”
It says it only accepts donations via the cryptocurrency Monero (XMR), a private decentralized cryptocurrency that ensures transactions are untraceable and confidential using ring signatures and stealth addresses.
The organization uses a ProtonMail address for communications, suggesting a focus on encryption and additional security measures.
Its footage of the arson was shared on X/Twitter by communist pro-Palestine radical activist Calla Walsh, who herself has previously been arrested and imprisoned for vandalizing and setting fire to an Elbit facility (in New Hampshire in November 2023).
Czech police have to date detained four people in connection with the attack. Open source intelligence accounts on X have identified two of those arrested. One is a transgender Egyptian with American citizenship, Youssef Moursi, who studies at Charles University, Prague.
The second is a Czech woman named Anezka Brahová, who has been actively involved in pro-Palestinian activism.
This comes just a month after a new group calling itself Ashab al-Yamin appeared on the scene in relation to attacks on Jewish sites across Europe.
The first attack was the bombing of a synagogue in Liege, Belgium. This was followed by an attack in Greece, an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and most recently an arson attack on four ambulances in London.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to Elbit for comment.