HUNDREDS of health workers blocked the entrance to NHS England’s headquarters in central London yesterday.
They were demanding the cancellation of business deals with American company, Palantir, which supplies software to the Israeli military, citing Israel’s ‘war on hospitals’.
A statement from Health Workers for a Free Palestine accused Palantir of supplying ‘advanced technology to Israel’s military’.
The healthworkers protested outside NHS England HQ, Wellington House, Waterloo.
NHS England awarded a £330 million ($415m) contract to Palantir in November.
‘Healthcare staff are shutting down access to NHS England protesting against its contract with a company complicit in the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system,’ Health Workers for a Free Palestine said.
Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp has said he’s ‘exceedingly proud’ of the company’s involvement in ‘operationally crucial operations in Israel’.
Palantir was awarded a £330 million contract by NHS England in November last year to create a data management system called the Federated Data Platform.
The Pro-Palestinian demonstrators want to see NHS England scrap its contract with Palantir Technologies.
The technology provided by Palantir to NHS England gives real-time data on the number of beds which are occupied in hospitals and the size of waiting lists.
Plantir has provided AI powered military and surveillance technology to the Israeli government
The company has also been accused of human rights abuses by Amnesty International.