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The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney on the situation in Gaza. The First Minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions.
14:52
The situation in Gaza is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. Over 63,000 people in Gaza have been killed and many more have been maimed. Most of the strip lies in ruins, and famine now grips the population. In a compelling address to the United Nations Security Council on 27 August, Joyce Msuya, the UN’s deputy humanitarian chief, advised that famine had been confirmed in north-central Gaza, where Gaza City is located, and that it is expected to spread to the south by the end of this month.
The scale of suffering is unimaginable. Nobody can ignore it. We must confront this crisis with urgency, compassion and an unwavering commitment to accountability. I know that colleagues across this Parliament share my horror at what is unfolding in Gaza.
This Government has consistently and unequivocally condemned the terrorist attacks that were carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, which claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 hostages taken. We have joined the international community in demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. All human life is equal, Israeli and Palestinian alike.
We have repeatedly called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire by all parties—a call that was endorsed by this Parliament on 21 November 2023—and for humanitarian aid to flow unrestricted into the territory. We have urged the United Kingdom Government to recognise the state of Palestine within the 1967 borders, joining over 140 UN member states—a number that is growing—and aligning with the international consensus on a two-state solution.
Although I welcome the intent behind the UK Government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month, recognition must not be conditional and should be irreversible. It is the right of Palestinians, not the gift of international powers, and it must be backed by sanctions against the Israeli Government.
A two-state solution is the only way that Palestinian and Israeli peoples can have a future, living side by side in peace and security. The Palestinian people and the Israeli people deserve no less. The Government of Israel has, however, overtly rejected that position, announcing another massive illegal settlement in the West Bank, with Israel’s finance minister explicitly claiming that the development would
“bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.
On Monday, I spoke to Dr Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian Mission in London. He described how settler violence and land grabs in the West Bank are accelerating and how it looks different to even two years ago, with Palestinian towns and cities behind barbed wire and walls, and with roadblocks choking mobility across the territory. He told me that the economy was being choked, with unemployment at around 50 per cent. He was convinced that the aim of the activity was, as the Israeli finance minister set out, to end the prospect of a Palestinian state.
The Israeli security cabinet’s decision to seize Gaza City last month has been condemned by the United Kingdom, the majority of the UN Security Council and senior UN figures. However, again, the Israeli Government has paid no heed. We need to act. The UK Government needs to act.
I am therefore calling for the immediate recognition of the Palestinian state, strengthened sanctions against those who are complicit in illegal settlements and the imposition of sanctions on the members of the Israeli security cabinet where they are complicit in the horrors that civilians in Gaza City face.
I welcomed the UK Government’s announcement in May that it had suspended trade negotiations with Israel, but it is clear that that action has made no difference. It is therefore time for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the UK-Israel free trade agreement, in view of Israel’s behaviour. I am also calling on the UK Government to follow the example of Ireland and to prohibit the import of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
This Government has contributed to humanitarian responses to the Gaza crisis—to date, we have contributed £1.3 million for Gaza and the wider middle east. In November 2023, we provided £750,000 to support access to food, water, shelter and medical supplies for more than 670,000 displaced people. More recently, we provided £550,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee middle east appeal, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund and Mercy Corps.
We welcome the fact that the UK Government has committed to supporting the evacuation of Gazan students who have been awarded places at Scottish universities.
For some time, I have been calling for the UK to end arms sales to Israel. The UK Government’s decision to suspend some arms licences was welcome, but I believe that it should go further. All licensed arms exports should stop.
I said recently that I share the concerns of other countries and international leaders that a genocide appears to be unfolding in Gaza. I did not make that claim lightly. The legal determination of genocide is the responsibility of international courts, and the International Court of Justice found a prima facie case that Israel was committing genocide.
Under article II of the 1948 genocide convention, two conditions must be met for genocide to be established. The first is that specific acts such as killing,
“causing serious bodily or mental harm”,
or inflicting life conditions calculated to destroy a group have occurred. The second is that those acts were carried out with the
“intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
Credible, widely documented evidence suggests that both of those conditions may be present in Israel’s conduct in Gaza. More than 63,000 Palestinians—the majority of them civilians, including more than 15,000 children—have been killed since October 2023. Vital infrastructure, including hospitals, homes, schools and water systems, have been systematically destroyed. Access to food, water and medical aid has been obstructed. The entire population has faced repeated forced displacement, often under life-threatening conditions.
Statements by senior Israeli officials include dehumanising language and express intent to eliminate Gaza. Defence minister Yoav Gallant described Palestinians as “human animals”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the biblical command “remember Amalek”, which is historically associated with collective annihilation. The finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that Gaza would be “entirely destroyed” and that its civilians would be relocated to a humanitarian zone in the south before they would leave their homeland.
Those statements have been cited in South Africa’s legal submissions to the International Court of Justice. International legal scholars have argued that they help to establish the specific intent that is required for a finding of genocide under the convention.
Governments must act now. Our neighbours in Ireland were the first Government in the European Union to say that what the Israeli Government is doing is genocide, when the Taoiseach told the Dáil on 28 May that the Israeli government was “committing genocide in Gaza”. The UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese concluded in March 2024 that
“there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of ... genocide against Palestinians ... in Gaza has been met.”
In April 2025, the UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, stated:
“This is not a war for security. It is a war to erase a people. And our failure to stop it will haunt our generation, and history.”
The United Kingdom Government should support the international rule of law, join South Africa’s case at the ICJ and commit to implementing the ICC arrest warrants. The UK must end military co-operation with the Israeli Government while the war continues and the question of genocide remains current.
I want to directly address accusations that that opinion could be seen as antisemitic. Let me be clear: I utterly reject antisemitism and all forms of racism and hatred. I stand with Scotland’s Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian communities, and I condemn all forms of antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism. I recognise the trauma experienced by those communities and I pledge as First Minister to ensure their safety and dignity.
On Monday, I met members of Scotland’s Jewish community. I did so because I wanted to reassure them of the respect that I have for the contribution that the community makes to all aspects of Scottish life. They are an integral part of Scotland’s story, and they are a valued and cherished community in Scotland. However, I recognise that events in the middle east—and reactions to those events here, in Scotland—cause anxiety for members of our Jewish community, irrespective of their individual views on the conflict. I also know that members of our community have been affected by Hamas’s terrorism in the worst possible way, and I again pay tribute to the memory of Bernard Cowan.
My condemnation of this Israeli Government’s actions is grounded in international law, human rights and a belief in the equal value of every human life. Many Jewish organisations and individuals have condemned the assault on Gaza. Their courage reminds us that to speak out against mass violence is not antisemitic; it is deeply human. In fact, to speak out is our moral and legal responsibility.
The challenge for this Parliament, this Government, the United Kingdom Government and governments across the world is what action we should we take if we agree that we are witnessing an unfolding genocide. I have spoken about the actions that I am calling on the UK Government to take, but let me turn now to what this Government will do. We are instructing relevant delivery bodies, where possible, not to provide support in facilitating trade between Scotland and Israel.
The UK has treaty obligations and duties in international law to respond appropriately when a situation involving a serious risk of genocide arises. The ministerial code, under which I operate, at section 1.7 lays a clear responsibility on all ministers to comply with
“international law and treaty obligations”.
The International Court of Justice has made it plain that that risk exists. It has said that there is a prima facie case of genocide in Gaza. The Scottish Government cannot ignore that.
We have previously provided business grants and investment support to companies that are involved in the design, production, supply and support of military equipment, technologies and services. We do so because we recognise that defending our country and defending our continent is a duty of Government. I hope that anyone watching the war in Ukraine would recognise the importance of defence. Indeed, the invasion shows that we live in a world in which our national security faces much greater and more immediate threats. In recognition of the changed international landscape, the Scottish Government will lift the restriction that we have applied on the use of support for the production of munitions.
However, in the face of genocide there can be no business as usual. We will pause new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries when there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by those countries. That will include Israel. The pause will apply, where possible, to new grants provided or investments made by the Scottish Government, our enterprise agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank. Any defence company that is seeking support from the Scottish Government will have to demonstrate that its products are not involved militarily with Israel.
The UK Government should review what other steps it must now take in view of the United Kingdom’s duty in international law to respond when there is a serious risk of genocide. Ultimately, the International Court of Justice must come to a determination in the case against the Israeli Government of genocide. Until we have that clarity, new public moneys should not go to arms companies that are involved with the Israeli military.
I know that there will be people in Scotland, not least apprentices funded by the Scottish Government who are working on the Clyde, at Rosyth and elsewhere, asking,“What does this mean for me?” Let me be clear: we have made a legally binding commitment to those young people and it will be honoured. Anyone who is in an apprenticeship or who has a formal offer will continue to be funded in their current place for the full duration of the apprenticeship.
This is a humanitarian crisis and Scotland will directly address that humanitarian need. We have a long history of helping those in desperate need and we will not be found wanting now. I can announce that we will provide £400,000 to Kids Operating Room to establish the Gaza HOPES—healthcare for obstetrics, paediatrics, emergency, and surgical care—field readiness hub in Scotland. The funding will help to unlock $15 million of additional funding to deliver a rapidly deployable hospital in Gaza. Designed in Scotland to be built in just a week, it can operate in the most challenging environments and last for decades. It will provide essential surgical, maternity and paediatric services to thousands of patients every year. The hub, or pilot hospital, will be co-ordinated from Dundee and will support similar deployments in future crises.
We will also donate £600,000 to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-led humanitarian fund for the occupied Palestinian territories, which will provide life-saving health services, food and nutrition assistance, emergency shelter, water and sanitation, protection services, education support and cash for families, ensuring that aid reaches those who are most at risk.
We have also committed to providing medical support for up to 20 injured children from Gaza. We expect the first arrivals, along with their families, in mid-September.
Although there are significant challenges in relocating human rights defenders such as journalists from Gaza at this time, we are determined to do what we can, and we will explore that and other ways of supporting their vital work at pace.
We will also support those who are struggling for justice, however distant a prospect that currently seems. We are exploring practical measures to bring expertise within Scotland’s legal establishment, our universities and our civil society, to contribute to gathering and preserving evidence that might be used in international criminal cases.
We are witnessing a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions, yet the bombs continue to fall. The world cannot wait for a final court ruling before acting. The signs are clear and the alarm has been raised. The bombs and rockets must stop and humanitarian aid must flow.
The international community, including the United Kingdom Government, must recognise a Palestinian state as the first step towards peace and a two-state solution in which the peoples of both Israel and Palestine can live side-by-side in peace and security.
Acknowledging that we are witnessing the signs of genocide brings with it a responsibility to act. The people of Scotland expect no less of us. For the duration of this afternoon’s business, I have authorised that the Palestinian flag be raised outside St Andrew’s house as an indication of Scotland’s solidarity with the people of Palestine. Scotland will always raise her voice in favour of peace and humanity.
The First Minister will take questions on the issues that were raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 30 minutes for that, after which we will need to move to the next item of business. I encourage members wishing to ask a question to press their request-to-speak button if they have not already done so.
We must never forget the horrors of 7 October 2023: the rape, murder and kidnap of innocent Israelis at the hands of Hamas terrorists. We are all deeply disturbed by the horrors of what is happening in Gaza, with so many innocent civilians—adults and children—being killed while others starve. The events in the middle east are a blight on humanity.
I do not doubt the sincerity of the First Minister’s feelings, but I also believe that the Scottish Parliament should focus the powers that it has on improving people’s lives in Scotland. Issues here need our full and urgent attention. Drug death rates in Scotland are the worst in Europe for the seventh consecutive year. Many communities live in fear of serious violence. Lives are being lost due to chronic problems in the national health service. I would rather that Mr Swinney provided a statement on those issues, for which he has responsibility.
However, since this statement is before us, I will ask John Swinney about his demand to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. That will be seen by many people as premature, impractical and counterproductive. [Interruption.] John Swinney says that he has spoken with Scotland’s proud and valued Jewish community in an attempt to allay their concerns. What does he expect their reaction will be to his statement today?
Before I call the First Minister, I remind members that, as emotional as this topic might be, we have listened to the First Minister with respect and we will listen to others who have questions with the same respect.
I agree with Russell Findlay that we should never forget what happened on 7 October 2023, and I agree with him that we should never forget what is going on in Gaza now, which has been going on for a considerable time.
I willingly accept my responsibility for the issues for which I have responsibility. I was here, in the chamber, leading a debate on those questions yesterday; I will be here tomorrow, answering First Minister’s questions, as I do every Thursday; and I will appear here whenever the Parliament asks me to do so to account for my actions. Some of my responsibilities are covered in the statement, which is about the way in which our enterprise agencies operate—that is my responsibility. I have to explain to the Parliament the approaches that we are taking.
On the question of the recognition of the Palestinian state, I do not think that it is premature; it is long overdue, to be honest—long overdue by multiple decades.
Finally, I met the Jewish community on Monday. I did so to explain to them face to face what I was thinking about the way in which this issue had to be handled. It is not the first time that I have met the community; I have had regular meetings with it. I am certain that the community will be disappointed by some of the things that I have said today. I am not in any doubt about that. However, I have to look at the situation in Gaza, and I have to think about the responsibility that my ministers carry to act within the law. That has underpinned the central decision that I have announced today. As First Minister, I am expected to operate within the law, as are my ministers—and I expect it of them. The current situation in relation to the case of genocide puts ministers in a position in which, if we do not take the actions that I am taking today, we could be at risk of not operating within the law.
The situation in Gaza is beyond intolerable: the deliberate starvation of children, the killing of innocent civilians trying to access aid and the collective punishment of a population with tens of thousands being killed and schools, hospitals and lives being destroyed. We need the bloodshed to stop right now. There must be an immediate ceasefire, the free flow of humanitarian assistance, the release of hostages so that they are back with their families where they belong, and a pathway to a two-state solution with lasting peace.
I am clear that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal and is clearly breaching international law. He is more interested in staying in power and out of jail than in peace, and he must be held to account and face justice for his actions.
Let me also be clear that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that committed brutal atrocities on 7 October 2023, and it, too, has no interest in peace.
The people of Palestine and Israel deserve to live in peace, freedom and security. Diplomacy, international engagement and building partnerships to work towards peace matter. That is why I welcome the significant decision by the UK Government that we will recognise a Palestinian state before the UN General Assembly this month—a move made alongside allied nations such as France, Australia, Canada and Belgium.
Does the First Minister agree with the actions taken by the UK Labour Government to remove the block on the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice; to remove the block on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East—UNRWA—and restore its funding; to introduce project pure hope to evacuate injured Gazan children and treat them here in the UK; and to sanction Israeli ministers who have incited settler violence?
This has gone on too long. The world has failed. The illegal occupation and genocide must end now.
I very much welcome the comments made by Mr Sarwar. I agree with his characterisation of the situation in Gaza. I agree with his description of Hamas as a terrorist organisation that is not interested in peace, and I agree with his call for there to be an international focus on the use of international institutions to deliver peace, freedom and security in the middle east.
The steps taken by the United Kingdom Government have been welcome. I have set out in my statement where I believe they should go further but, where they have come, they are welcome. We are actively engaged with the UK Government on the transport of some children from Gaza to the UK, and Scotland will play a part in providing healthcare to support those children and their families. We are having constructive discussions about the ability to support students from Gaza to come to Scotland and the UK as a consequence of the arrangements that are being put in place.
I want us to act with as much solidarity and agreement as we can, because only by the collective endeavours of us all can we possibly apply pressure on the Israeli Government and Prime Minister Netanyahu to reverse this disastrous course and protect the people of Gaza. They have suffered unbearably, and it must come to an end.
Israel is an apartheid state. It has occupied Palestinian land and brutalised the Palestinian people for almost 80 years. Over the past two years, it has systematically slaughtered the people of Gaza—a genocide. I am glad that the Scottish Government has finally accepted the Scottish Greens’ proposal to end all public funding for Israel’s arms dealers. That sets an example for nations around Europe and the world to follow. However, we can and must go further. When Putin brutally and illegally invaded Ukraine, the Scottish Government rightly and immediately called on every Scottish business to sever all ties and cease all trade with Russia. Palestinian lives are worth no less than Ukrainian or Scottish lives. Will the First Minister take the opportunity this afternoon to make that same call? Will he ask every business in Scotland to join the global boycott against apartheid Israel?
The comments that I have made in my statement set out the range of interventions that the Scottish Government can take—the very significant range of interventions that we can take within our power. Part of that involves the approach that we are taking on international trade. We are making it clear that the Scottish Government will not support the development, encouragement or nurturing of international trade. That is the correct approach for us to take so that we are focused entirely on using our influence and resources to ensure that the conflict is brought to an end.
Given the historical responsibility that we hold in Great Britain for the desperate situation that is unfolding in Palestine, both of our Governments have a duty and an obligation to act, or we should deserve to have the images of the children of Gaza haunt us for 100 years.
The people of Gaza and of Israel are now governed by regimes that operate only in their own hate-filled interests, at devastating humanitarian cost, both to the remaining Israeli hostages and to the citizens of Gaza.
I am gratified to hear the First Minister talk of the Government’s support for KidsOR, an organisation that I have hosted in the Parliament. I welcome the announcement that 20 children will be brought to Scotland to receive NHS care. What scope will there be to expand that number, given the unfolding humanitarian disaster in that benighted land?
I welcome the comments that Mr Cole-Hamilton makes. I have visited KidsOR in Dundee; it is an organisation that has deployed medical care on an incredibly sophisticated level in difficult and challenging circumstances. Its intervention has been very welcome, and I am glad that we are able to support it in the way that we can. I admire the organisation enormously.
In relation to the provision of medical care through the NHS, we are working collaboratively with the UK Government on that question. Mr Cole-Hamilton will appreciate that there are all sorts of visa and transfer issues that must be arranged. We cannot do that unilaterally; we have to do it in co-operation with the UK Government, and I welcome the engagement that we have had with the UK Government on pursuing that issue. The answer to his question is that we are willing to be as helpful as we can to as many families as possible, but the number of children and families that we can support will be determined by the collaboration with the UK Government.
Over the past few months, we have seen mass starvation in Gaza—denied by the Israeli Government—bombing of hospitals and the murder of innocent journalists. An estimated 63,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli Government. I know that the First Minister agrees that that is genocide, but should the Scottish Government be supporting a total boycott of Israeli goods, extensive sanctions on the state of Israel and a complete ban on arms sales to Israel?
What I have tried to do today is set out the range of actions that are within the powers of the Scottish Government. I have explored that issue extensively to maximise the effectiveness of the intervention that we can make, because of the gravity of the situation that Mr McLennan recounts. The steps that have been set out are designed to provide the maximum response that we can make in Scotland to the situation that we face. Of course, we will consider whatever steps emerge in the fullness of time.
The First Minister will understand that there will be differences between us on some aspects of the actions that he has outlined this afternoon. Will he join Scottish politicians of several parties who have drawn a distinction between the state of Israel and the present Government of Israel with its Netanyahu Administration? Israel is a democracy in which, at successive elections, a majority has not voted in favour of Mr Netanyahu’s Government or some of the extreme coalition partners in it. The conflation in language, in talking of the state of Israel and its prosecution of the atrocities in Gaza, is one that is used by others who have a much more malign intent towards the state of Israel itself.
I hope that, in my statement, I set out my absolute view that there needs to be a peaceful settlement in the middle east, in which the state of Israel and a Palestinian state can exist side by side, and that they can live in peace and security in the fashion that I discussed with Mr Sarwar a moment ago.
I acknowledge that there is a difference between the actions of the Netanyahu Government and the actions of all the people of Israel. There is clearly a difference between those two elements, and it is important. The Netanyahu Government is in command of the government of Israel. It is that Government that is prosecuting the situation in Gaza. That is the Government that needs to be held to account. That is the Government that needs to change course. All the actions that I am setting out and endorsing or encouraging are designed to have that purpose.
I have many constituents who show up, week after week, to vigils and protests for Palestine, adding their voice to those of the many Scots who oppose the genocide that is happening in Gaza. I know that the Scottish Government has previously engaged with Gaza Families Reunited to lend support to pushing for the UK Government to open safe routes for those who have family already in Scotland to join that family—something that is personally affecting many of those whom I have met in Inverness at protests outside the town house. Can the First Minister give any update on that work?
The Scottish Government has contacted the United Kingdom Government. In November 2024, the Minister for Equalities wrote to the UK Government on behalf of Gaza Families Reunited to encourage the establishment of a scheme to reunite families from Gaza that would be similar to the scheme that we had in place in relation to Ukraine. The UK Government has not agreed to such a proposition, but the on-going awfulness of the situation and the concerns of families that Emma Roddick has put to me demonstrate the need for us to continue to press for such an approach to be taken to ensure that we do all that we can to support individuals who have been affected by the crisis.
The Palestinian people will rejoice about the fact that their national flag is flying over Government buildings, but does the First Minister agree with my view that the situation that we are discussing is no longer a war but is ethnic cleansing that amounts to genocide, with Israel having the clear intent of occupying the land in question?
I welcome the fact that the Government will try to bring 20 children here for emergency treatment. I have tried to help a young girl, Lamar, who is in danger of losing her limbs if she does not get treatment. The big issue is how we evacuate those Palestinians from Gaza. Can the First Minister say any more about how we will get those people out of Gaza so that they can get the emergency treatment that they so desperately need?
I agree with Pauline McNeill that the situation is no longer a war; it stopped being a war a long time ago. Her description of what is happening in Gaza as genocide accurately describes what is going on, so I agree with her characterisation of the process that is under way as ethnic cleansing.
I know how substantially Pauline McNeill will be acting to help the young girl who she mentioned. She raised the practical difficulties that exist, which are tied up with the fact that we have no effective humanitarian routes of engagement in Gaza at present. That is entirely at the hand of the Israeli Government.
During the summer, I met representatives of UNICEF, who told me about the volume of aid that is sitting within viewing distance of the people of Gaza but which cannot get there because of the actions of the Israeli Government. It is critical that international pressure and our collaboration with the UK Government help to sustain the humanitarian effort to create the corridors and the pathways that will enable us to support young people such as the young person to whom Pauline McNeill referred.
I assure Pauline McNeill that we are actively engaged in trying to find solutions, but that will depend on the pressure that can be applied by the international community to create the necessary pathways.
Will the First Minister comment on the number of journalists who have been killed during the conflict? Two hundred and forty-seven have been killed, which is more than have been killed in every conflict since the first world war. Does he agree that people in the media must be allowed to continue to tell the world the stories of what is happening in Gaza?
I share the concern that Mr Adam has expressed. It is important that there is open and dispassionate analysis of what is going on in Gaza. That will be an essential source of information for the International Criminal Court proceedings and the considerations of the International Court of Justice.
I mourn the loss of all lives in the conflict. I mourn the loss of journalists’ lives, because journalists are able to share with us the truth of what is happening. At an event just before the end of the recess, I was reminded of a quote by the late former Presiding Officer George Reid, who, in a debate on the Iraq war in this Parliament in 2003, said that the first victim of the war was the truth. That relates directly to the comment that Mr Adam has put to me. On this occasion, it is important that we remember the fine and distinguished words of one of the greatest colleagues I have ever had, George Reid, who gave us an insight into the dangers that Mr Adam has raised with me today.
The crimes of Israel against the Palestinian people demand concrete action from the international community, such as the welcome pause in awards to arms companies outlined by the First Minister. Boycott, divestment and sanctions are a peaceful and effective way to encourage compliance with international law. Will he instruct his Government to ensure that it is deploying against Israel, and all those profiting from the genocide, every single non-violent punitive measure at its disposal until such a time as Israel ends its brutal, violent and illegal occupation of Palestine, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity?
I have set out a package of measures in the economic, humanitarian and diplomatic space that are within my responsibilities to undertake. I have explored with my ministerial colleagues extensively the range of options that are available to us, and the product of that analysis is what Parliament has before it today. I must act in a lawful fashion at all times. It is an essential obligation, as I set out in the statement that I have given to Parliament today. I reassure Ruth Maguire that every step that I can take is being taken.
In an earlier answer, I heard the First Minister discuss the amount of aid that sits waiting on the border, within touching distance of those civilians who need it. Does he share my dismay at the inability of the UN and the international community to collaborate to deliver such vital supplies to the population of Gaza who so desperately need it?
With respect, I do not think that that is the problem. The organisations that I have spoken to have given me a very clear outline of the arrangements that they have in place, and they have a track record of delivering aid. What is necessary is a safe pathway to do so. There are people who are being killed when they are going to get aid at some of the existing aid arrangements. That illustrates that it is, in certain circumstances, unsafe for people even to access aid that is managing to reach them. We need safe and humanitarian routes to get that aid there. It is close at hand, but it needs safety to get there.
To call out the Israeli Government’s deadly actions in the Gaza and West Bank genocide, which I have done on many occasions in articles, is not antisemitic. Indeed, many in the Jewish diaspora are equally appalled. In Israel, dissent in relation to Netanyahu’s actions is suppressed.
I note the call on the UK Government to prohibit the import of goods from Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, but I suggest that the UK goes further and prohibits imports from Israel itself. Devolution has its limits, but individuals like me in Scotland have not, and it is my intention to boycott those imports in the meantime.
As Christine Grahame knows, and recounts in her question, there are devolved and reserved responsibilities that apply to these issues. There is a free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Israel, which I do not think should be maintained, because of the situation in Gaza. That relates to many of the issues that Christine Grahame puts to me, which would be resolved if we were to take a different course in the United Kingdom about that engagement with Israel on trade.
Like my colleague George Adam, I am very concerned about the number of journalists who have been killed in Gaza.
When I graduated with a degree in journalism, I left the university building with an absolute knowledge in my heart that my job would be to go out into the world and bear witness and hold a mirror up to the world to show exactly what is happening.
What we are seeing in Gaza is not collateral damage but a pattern. Will the First Minister join me in emphatically condemning those killings? Will he make urgent representations to the UK Government and international bodies to demand action to stop the killing of journalists and to secure accountability from those responsible? After all, deliberate attacks against journalists during an armed conflict constitute a war crime.
I could not have made the point more powerfully than Elena Whitham has made it. It is important—it is critical—that journalists are able to share with the world what is going on in Gaza. It is essential for that very purpose of openness and truthfulness that is to be the heart of media reporting; however, it is also important, for the issues that I raised in relation to the International Criminal Court proceedings and the work of the International Court of Justice, to ensure that what is happening in Gaza is understood and is a part of the understanding of the suffering of the people of Gaza.
To aid the humanitarian effort, the Scottish Government could further activate its soft power to promote, for example, expertise at the University of Dundee, notably in the areas of groundwater aquifer utilisation to support the supply of drinking water, and cutting-edge research in housing and community design for those who are temporarily displaced. Will the First Minister consider that?
I would be happy to consider that.
In his question, Mr Golden has highlighted some of the great strengths that exist in the University of Dundee, of which I am very proud and which are an essential part of what has been deployed on other occasions in other circumstances around the world. He has made a very good and strong point. However, it comes back to the context in which those strengths could be deployed. There needs to be peace; there needs to be an approach that means that those skills can be deployed safely. That is what we are lacking just now. The necessity of a peaceful outcome is critical to enabling Mr Golden’s very good suggestions to take their course.
First Minister, given that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other humanitarian organisations have declared that famine is taking place in Gaza and that at least 158 people died of starvation during August, what steps is the Scottish Government taking, further to what you said in your original comments, to address that humanitarian crisis? Although I recognise that the obstruction is the responsibility of the Israeli Government and the Israel Defense Forces, how is the Scottish Government pressing the UK Government to take even more urgent action, both in increasing aid and in using diplomatic and political pressure to ensure that food and medical supplies can reach civilians without obstruction, particularly while the unforgivable, deliberate starving of children continues in the on-going genocide in Gaza?
Always speak through the chair.
The issues that Mr Dornan has raised are central to the debate. I assure him that I have used every opportunity in dialogue with the Prime Minister to advance the discussion with the United Kingdom Government. The Prime Minister has been entirely willing to engage on the question, and I welcome that. I have written to the Prime Minister today, setting out the various propositions and proposals that I have explained to the Parliament. I would welcome further dialogue with the UK Government to advance those issues and to enable me to convey to the Prime Minister the sentiments of the Scottish Parliament—which will, of course, be debated in the debate that is about to commence and which are important in contributing to the thinking of the UK Government on the actions that it needs to take in that respect.
That concludes this item of business. There will be a brief pause before the next item, to allow front benches to change.
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