Gaza (Humanitarian Disaster)
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-3179, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
First, let me take the opportunity to thank all parties for their support and co-operation in securing today's very important debate.
The scenes of devastation that we have witnessed in Gaza during the past 12 days have been truly horrifying. Concern is widespread, and is felt by Scots throughout the country, regardless of faith, colour or creed. The Scottish Government has already added its voice to calls for an immediate and complete cease-fire, and I hope that Parliament will do likewise today.
The Scottish Government strongly condemns attacks on civilians, whether Israeli or Palestinian. Like every other reasonable person, I believe that Israel has a right to defend its citizens from rocket attacks. However, it also has a duty to act reasonably, proportionately and within the obligations imposed on it by international law.
So far, the current offensive on Gaza has killed more than 600 Palestinians, more than half of whom were women and children, and injured more than 3,000 people. A couple of days ago, the conflict took a horrifying twist when a United Nations school that was sheltering children and their families was struck by Israeli mortars, killing 40 people. Such acts have rightly been condemned worldwide, as has the continued firing of rockets by Hamas militants. All sides involved must understand that the continuing violence is shattering any glimmer of hope for a long-term solution and lasting peace in the region.
Of course, today's debate is not primarily about the political situation in the middle east, on which each of us will have our own views. For my part, I believe strongly in the right of Palestinians to self-determination; I also believe that peace in the middle east demands a two-state solution, with a secure Israel and an independent and viable Palestinian homeland.
Today's debate is about the humanitarian crisis that is gripping Gaza. No one can fail to be affected by the images of children, women and the elderly suffering in the most horrific conditions imaginable. The humanitarian crisis has intensified in the past 12 days but its roots extend much further back. For the past 18 months, there has been a complete blockade of the Gaza strip, during which there has been no exporting or importing of any goods to or from Gaza. Basic essentials such as medicines, bread, rice and clean water have been in very short supply. That has obviously had a devastating effect on the lives of ordinary people in Gaza and crippled what was already a very fragile economy.
Approximately 85 per cent of the Gazan population is dependent on UN food aid, which, according to the UN relief and works agency in the region, has almost run out. Unemployment is severe, with more than 60 per cent of the population without any meaningful employment. Even before the current assault, Gaza's hospitals and health clinics were completely overrun and severely lacking in basic medical supplies.
I am aware that Sandra White, Pauline McNeill and Hugh O'Donnell recently braved a 13-hour boat ride across the Mediterranean to Gaza. They will no doubt speak about the appalling conditions that they witnessed.
Throughout the past 12 days charities and non-governmental organisations from across the world have been pulling together to help the people of Gaza. Scottish aid agencies have also played a significant role. I was delighted to speak at Islamic Relief's emergency fundraising event last weekend, along with Pauline McNeill. The strength of feeling that emanated from people who wanted to do whatever they could to help the people of Gaza was tangible, and a total of £160,000 was raised, which will go towards incubators and other medical supplies for the people of Gaza.
In addition to Islamic Relief, other aid agencies are working on the ground in Gaza, with people risking their lives every day to try to bring much-needed help and relief to that suffering population. Many aid agencies, such as Save the Children, Christian Aid and Oxfam, have offices and volunteer bases in Scotland, which shows that we are a deeply caring nation that, along with many nations worldwide, will do what we can to ease suffering wherever it happens in the world.
I can advise Parliament that Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with the NGOs that are working in Gaza. They have been advised that, following a decision of the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Scottish Government stands ready to respond favourably to any requests for humanitarian assistance that might be made by those working on the ground. In addition, the First Minister has written to the Israeli Government to express our desire—and, I hope, that of the Parliament and the Scottish nation—for an immediate cease-fire.
As the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, the calls for an immediate cease-fire become louder. Since the conflict began, the Scottish Government has been echoing calls from the UN secretary-general and other world leaders for a cessation of violence. Let us be clear that only a complete cessation of violence will suffice. Three-hour pauses in bombing are not sufficient to feed 750,000 people. Only when arms are laid down and dialogue begins can the people of Gaza begin to hope to rebuild their lives.
Yesterday, I was encouraged—as was everyone else in this country and across the world—by the positive noises from both sides involved in the conflict around agreeing to principles of a truce. The efforts of French, Egyptian and UN diplomats to broker a truce must be supported, and the Scottish Government does so. In the meantime, we will do whatever we can to support our aid agencies in any way that we can to help alleviate the terrible suffering of the people of Gaza.
I hope that the Parliament will come together today to speak with one voice, and I urge all members to back the motion in my name. I know that it has the support of many across the chamber.
I move,
That the Parliament expresses its concern over the loss of all lives in the conflict in Gaza; joins the international community in calling for a ceasefire; acknowledges the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza; recognises and welcomes the role being played by those in Scotland involved in the humanitarian response, and supports the work of all charities and NGOs in Scotland that are responding to this situation.
This morning, it is right that we should spend some time discussing how Scotland can respond to the humanitarian disaster that is happening in the Gaza strip. I do not suggest that that exceeds our responsibilities, although the diplomatic response is rightly the United Kingdom Government's responsibility. However, our humanitarian response and our commentary are not unimportant in a matter that is of such human concern. The scale of the suffering to which the Deputy First Minister alluded and the subsequent dominance of the news coverage of the situation in Gaza means that the public expect us to add our voices to those of the international community and to recognise that the situation is of world concern.
This morning, we hear that, as predicted, the violence has spread, with reports of rockets being fired from Lebanon. It is right that we, as politicians, express our views, because that is in tune with the public's mood as they watch the disaster unfold.
Like Nicola Sturgeon, I put on record my thanks to all political parties and their business managers, who made it possible for us to have this short and important debate.
The world must focus on an immediate cease-fire on all sides. The UK Government is arguing hard for that, as is the UN Security Council. Before Christmas, I led a members' business debate on Gaza on the very last day of the parliamentary term; it is hard to believe that such a catastrophe unfolded days later.
I want to be clear that the inflicting of casualties on both sides of the conflict is to be condemned. Ordinary Palestinians and Israelis are suffering as a result of the failure to reach a peaceful settlement in the middle east. All acts of violence must be condemned.
While sharply criticising Israel's actions in strong language, Pope Benedict also said that both sides think of their own interests while innocent people die. Successive Israeli spokespersons have denied that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza; I can hardly find the words to respond to that statement. We have all watched the air strikes, of which there were 60 last night. Almost 700 Palestinians are now dead; on Tuesday, 130 were killed and more than 3,000 were injured.
As we know from our past discussions, it is difficult for the Palestinians to respond to such a crisis. There are no wheelchairs or crutches for those who are injured; there is a lack of basic medicine; and, in some cases, there is no anaesthetic to allow basic procedures to be carried out.
No inch of Gaza is safe. It is a built-up area with no hiding places. There is not much electricity or clean water. The sewerage system is at the point of collapse. Schools are not functioning and food is not available. There are no stockpiles of anything because of the crippling effects of the siege in the months leading up to the air strikes. Nothing can be repaired and, as we know, the hospitals cannot cope. Twenty per cent of the casualties have been children, and the health of the people in Gaza was poor to begin with.
As Nicola Sturgeon said in her opening speech, Sandra White, Hugh O'Donnell and I made the 15-hour trip—I emphasise the fact that it was 15 hours, and therefore too long—to Gaza. I have now been there twice, and the second time I was able to see the deterioration that had occurred since my first visit. It is important for people at least to understand the extent of the siege, its effect on civilians and how they might have responded to it.
I was an observer during the 2006 Palestinian elections, when Hamas was unexpectedly elected to govern. To understand the Palestinian response to the repeated failures to address the underlying issues and to bring about peace in the middle east, we must at least understand what is going on there. A homeland for Palestinians has been promised for more than 60 years, and the failure to keep that promise is the world's failure. The siege of Gaza has meant that an entire population has been collectively punished, yet, I am afraid, the siege was endorsed by the leaders of other nations, including Egypt—although I pay tribute to Egypt for trying to bring about a cease-fire now. Egypt's closure of the Rafah border has caused untold human suffering.
I spoke to Douglas Alexander this week about our humanitarian response, and I am pleased to hear that the United Kingdom was the first country to announce an immediate aid package of food and water. I have also raised the issue with David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, who is rightly arguing in the Security Council that any cease-fire agreement must include open and accessible border crossings. It is all very well to collect aid, but if we cannot get it into Gaza we will not be able to respond to the crisis. The siege must be lifted as part of any final deal. In the circumstances, the Scottish Government is right to respond to the humanitarian crisis, and I welcome the Deputy First Minister's statement this morning that the Government will do all that it can within our devolved responsibilities.
I spoke to people in Gaza this week, when I was able to get a connection. It is important to them, given that they have been isolated for so long, to feel that people in the outside world care about what is happening. We have a lot of hopes for the Obama presidency, which might bring fresh thinking in the middle east. Barack Obama has a lot of responsibility to bear, and I hope that he changes the course of American foreign policy.
However, the responsibility lies not just with President Obama. We know that the root of the conflict is the world's failure to establish a Palestinian homeland; the lack of commentary on the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory has led to this sorry situation. I am pleased to support the motion in Nicola Sturgeon's name.
Few of us who spoke in Pauline McNeill's members' business debate on the last day before the Christmas recess could have expected the escalation in violence that we have witnessed in Gaza over the past two weeks. Indeed, all members will be united in urging an immediate and sustainable cease-fire.
The Scottish Conservatives deplore the tragic deaths of civilians in Gaza, including those of nearly 200 children. However—I make no apology for repeating my words of the previous debate—it is difficult to achieve the moral high ground on human rights with the Israelis given the fact that, within living memory, 6 million Jews were exterminated with absolutely no regard taken of their human rights. Of course, that does not give the Israelis carte blanche to ignore the human rights of their Palestinian neighbours.
I am glad that today's motion confines itself to what we, in Scotland, can do in a humanitarian role in Gaza. Foreign relations are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although it may have suited the First Minister's image of himself as a world statesman to call for an Israeli cease-fire, it is difficult to imagine how his plea specifically for Israeli restraint could prompt anything in Gaza other than the question, "Who is Alex Salmond?" What we can do here in Scotland is start to show a little more intellectual honesty in the way in which we report and comment on the Palestinian crisis. Even-handedness is not about accepting every claim from Hamas as gospel and every counter claim from Israel as propaganda. A little more scepticism might be applied to the claims from both sides.
In the members' business debate that we held before Christmas, there seemed to be little recognition among those who spoke of the fact that there are two sides to the conflict. Member after member condemned the Israeli blockade of Gaza—indeed, I did so myself—but with little apparent recognition of how and why it began. Hamas is a militant organisation that is funded by Iran, which itself is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and is widely believed to be developing nuclear weapons. It is the right of the sovereign state of Israel to protect itself and its people from militants. However inconvenient that fact might be, and however short memories have become, Israel happens to be boxed in by nations that are hell-bent on its obliteration. Indeed, the Hamas charter of 1988—which has never been rescinded—proclaims the necessity of Israel's destruction
"at the hands of Islam".
We are told that Israel's response has been disproportionate because more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed so far. Should we just ignore Israeli claims that Hamas has deliberately situated weapons under apartment blocks and in mosques and hospitals? Independent UN observers confirm that 75 per cent of the dead in Gaza so far have been Hamas terrorists.
Will the member take an intervention?
Will the member give way on that point?
No, I will not. I have only four minutes.
Bringing about a cease-fire now is no easy matter, as there must be a cease-fire on both sides. It is pointless to demand that Israel stop launching rockets if Hamas is simply going to resume its random rocket attacks on the cities of Be'er Sheva, Ashqelon and Ashdod. Frankly, it is not in Israel's interest to prolong the current invasion, partly because Hamas will undoubtedly declare victory if it survives the Israeli onslaught—which it will, in some form—and partly because the current invasion risks escalating the situation on Israel's other borders, including the border with Lebanon, as we have already seen today.
This is a disastrous time for the 1.5 million people who live in the Gaza strip, who cannot flee and who are increasingly caught in the crossfire and the Israeli bombardment. There are also nearly 1 million people in the southern Israeli cities who are still under threat from Hamas rocket attacks. I agree with Nicola Sturgeon and Pauline McNeill that the best that we can do here in Scotland is support the work of all Scottish NGOs and charities in responding quickly and generously to the increasingly tragic situation.
In the debate before Christmas, hope was expressed that a new, charismatic American President might be able to break the logjam in the middle east and begin the process of achieving the two-state solution that Israel has accepted must be established. The events of the past 13 days make that look increasingly like a second-term objective for Barack Obama. I fear that, sadly, the agony of Palestine is set to endure.
The Palestinian people are paying a dear price for Europe's guilt about what happened to European Jews. I find Mr Brocklebank's comments completely inappropriate but unsurprising, given the fact that the Conservatives did everything that they could to prevent the debate from taking place, notwithstanding what the cabinet secretary said.
I congratulate all the organisations in Scotland that are taking practical steps to help the people in Gaza. Even those of us who were there recently can have only a limited understanding of what has gone on in the past two weeks. We have watched in horror as the conflict in Gaza has claimed innocent victim after innocent victim. We have watched the UN schools, for which the Israelis have the co-ordinates, being completely destroyed. The past two weeks have been a telling indictment of the international community. We have an outgoing United States President who is giving Israel carte blanche to do what is being done to the people of Gaza and, regrettably, an aching silence from the President-elect. We also have a European Union that is encumbered by clumsy decision making and confused messages.
Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of hope, which has been referred to by other members. It is the short respite in the bombing that has been promised by Israel, along with the talk of a cease-fire. The three hours to which Nicola Sturgeon referred is barely enough time to do anything—let alone to feed a population of 1.5 million—but it is a start, even if it is intended only to deflect growing international criticism of what Israel is doing.
As other members have said, Israel has every right to defend itself, but its current approach is self-defeating and conveniently ignores the roots of its existence in the Stern gang and Irgun. There is no more a military solution to this situation than there was to the situation in Northern Ireland. We must get the sides to talk to each other. We were brave enough to talk to the Irish Republican Army, so why can we not make the Israelis brave enough to talk to Hamas and Hamas brave enough to talk to the Israelis?
Will the member give way?
I am sorry, but I have only four minutes.
The overwhelming use of force by Israel and the unacceptable loss of civilian lives are radicalising moderate Palestinians. We are now seeing Hezbollah launching attacks from Lebanon.
Britain must condemn unambiguously Israel's tactics, just as it has rightly condemned the Hamas rocket attacks. We must lead the European Union towards using its economic and diplomatic influence in the region to broker peace. That includes, if necessary, cancelling the preferable trade agreement that it is currently negotiating with the Israelis.
Finally, the world's leaders must accept that the response to the election of Hamas has been a strategic failure. Attempts to divide and rule the Palestinians by isolating them and collectively punishing an innocent civilian population in Gaza will not succeed. No terrorist organisation has ever been bombed into submission. To secure peace in the middle east, Hamas must turn its back on its terrorist activities to help to create Palestinian unity and Israel must recognise that the people of Palestine have as much right to exist on that land as the Israelis do. In Scotland, we must do all that we can to support the humanitarian efforts for the civilians in Gaza.
We now move to the open debate. There will be four-minute speeches, and I remind members that no one-minute warnings will be given and that they should therefore keep an eye on the clock.
I thank the Scottish Government and all political parties for acting swiftly to enable us to have this debate. It is important that the Scottish Parliament sends a message to Israel and the rest of the world that there must be a cease-fire and an end to the killing on all sides. I say to Ted Brocklebank that we cannot blame the Palestinians for the horrors that were visited on the Israeli people.
Some 700 Palestinians and 11 Israelis have been killed in the recent events. I leave members to ponder those numbers. Disproportionate? I would say so.
Like others, I have visited Gaza. I have seen the refugee camps and I have eaten and drunk with the people, and it breaks my heart to watch the continued bombardment night after night. Gaza is a densely populated area in which the people have suffered greatly through the siege. Members might have seen a small red-haired boy during the television coverage. We spoke to that boy when we were there, simply because he stood out because of his red hair. I wonder whether that small red-haired boy is alive today to speak on behalf of the people of Gaza.
We met people on the streets and in hospitals, and we met kids in schools. Those kids said to us, "All we want is a life the same as yours. We want to be free. We want to be able to study and move freely throughout our country." That is not too much to ask. Sadly, those kids cannot even attend their schools any more, because those schools have been bombed. As we have heard already, a UN school was bombed and 40 children were killed.
Yesterday, there was a three-hour cease-fire to allow aid to enter. That was a completely inadequate amount of time. How long would it take to get the aid in? How long would it take to get it to the right people? Furthermore, after the so-called truce, leaflets were dropped warning people to leave their homes or face air strikes. Following that, 60 air strikes were carried out. Where were those people supposed to go? Gaza is densely populated, and Gaza city is almost the same size as the middle of Glasgow. Where could those people go? Into the sea, which is patrolled by Israeli boats?
The UN and the international community have called for a cease-fire, yet they are ignored. What is the point of having institutions such as the UN if no one listens to them and no one obeys the laws that they create?
When we visited Gaza, the situation was dire. As the Deputy First Minister said, nothing was going in and nothing was coming out. Children were in incubators and people were on dialysis machines, and no one knew when those machines might be turned off because Israel controls the power. They had no fuel for ambulances to bring people to hospital. That was before the recent invasion; just think what it must be like now. Gaza is undergoing a humanitarian crisis of huge proportions. That must be stopped. There must be a long-lasting cease-fire, not just three-hour truces here and there, so that aid can be delivered to the Palestinians.
The situation cannot continue. There must be peace in the middle east, and there must be a two-state solution. There must be a Palestinian state, as people must be allowed their democratic rights. Bombing and killing people is not the way forward. I agree that both sides are engaged in killing, but the situation is disproportionate.
As I said, I see what is happening in Gaza on the television every night. I see the frustration of the people in Gaza and feel the frustration of people in Scotland and throughout the world. I visited a couple who left Gaza on the boat with us—an old man, whom we brought to Scotland for treatment that was unavailable in Gaza, and his wife. They now stay with their son in Riddrie in Glasgow. They are lovely people, and they gave me a warm welcome. I say to the people of Gaza that we want to give them a warm welcome. There must be a cease-fire, and the bombings must end.
Like many others, over the past fortnight I have found myself shouting at the television as I have watched the carnage in Gaza. There may be terrorists in Gaza, but there are clearly many more civilians, and they are being bombarded day after day by aircraft, helicopters and artillery. Last weekend the army moved in, and now even more civilians taking refuge from the bombardment are being killed and injured.
The barbarity of the acts that we are witnessing is accentuated by the calculations that lie behind them. First, there is the political calculation that sees the month before the inauguration of Barack Obama, combined with the run-up to elections in Israel, as a window of opportunity for the unleashing of a violent onslaught. Secondly, there is the calculated media and diplomatic offensive that has gone side-by-side with the military intervention and was months in the planning. It is regrettable that, in their coverage of Gaza, the United Kingdom media have chosen to give so much prominence to Israeli spokespersons proffering justifications for the indefensible rather than focus on the effects of sophisticated weapons on a civilian population.
Above all, media coverage—especially television news coverage—omits the vital context of the conflict, which is the fact that Palestinians have been systematically herded into smaller and smaller parcels of territory after forcible removal from their homes. In Gaza, the people have been barricaded in and deprived of vital infrastructure and supplies.
There have been Israeli casualties in areas close to Gaza as a result of the firing of mortar rockets. Any terrorist acts that lead to such deaths or injuries are to be condemned, and I do so unreservedly, but the systematic destruction that is being caused in Gaza by much greater firepower is neither a proportionate nor an appropriate response. Military action has not succeeded in preventing attacks on Israel in the past. The only solution is one that removes the source of the grievance, and that is where Israel has failed. The current bombardment of Gaza will make a negotiated solution all the more difficult to achieve—indeed, it appears calculated to do so, which is something that the international community should take into account in its response. We are dealing not with a humanitarian crisis that can be dealt with if medical and food aid are brought in to relieve immediate suffering following a cease-fire but with a continuing political crisis that will fester, with huge consequences for the whole world, until there is justice for the Palestinian people.
There is no doubt that both sides share blame for the failure to reach an agreement at Camp David. However, if Hamas has succeeded in winning the support of many of the people of Gaza, it is because the previous Palestinian leadership was weakened in its ability to negotiate successfully—and the undermining of that leadership was a deliberate act of policy by Israel and the Americans, who were not prepared to tolerate a strong Palestinian leadership. To achieve a political solution, Israel will have to negotiate with leaders who are chosen by the Palestinian people. It will have to make territorial concessions, including concessions in Jerusalem, which it is currently not prepared to do.
I want to see an end to the bloodshed in Gaza, but it is not enough simply to stop the bombardment. Peace requires justice, and engagement on the basis of mutual respect is a prerequisite of any progress, but it cannot be achieved by military means. The international community must demand justice for the Palestinians—justice whose legal basis is the UN resolutions that we have failed to enforce for so long. It is time for us to demand not just an end to the fighting but a lasting settlement. We have a responsibility—the whole world has a responsibility—to ensure that that is done.
I will not join the many armchair experts on the complex situation in the middle east and, in particular, the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Instead, I turn to somebody who knows what he is talking about. Writing in The Independent yesterday following the massacre at the UN school of 40 civilians, including old women and children, Robert Fisk asked:
"Have we forgotten the 17,500 dead—almost all civilians, most of them children and women—in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon; the 1,700 Palestinian civilian dead in the Sabra-Chatila massacre; the 1996 Qana massacre of 106 Lebanese civilian refugees, more than half of them children, at a UN base; the massacre of the Marwahin refugees who were ordered from their homes by the Israelis in 2006 then slaughtered by an Israeli helicopter crew; the 1,000 dead of that same 2006 bombardment and Lebanese invasion, almost all of them civilians?"
I say to Ted Brocklebank that Israel, to its Government's shame, has a bloody track record that stretches over decades.
In Robert Fisk's words, what happened at the UN school
"was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I'm afraid, it was."
I respect those words.
What are the excuses that we hear again and again? Robert Fisk writes:
"After Israeli artillery had fired shells into the UN base at Qana in 1996, the Israelis claimed that Hizbollah gunmen were also sheltering in the base. It was a lie … Israel claimed the bodies of children killed in a second Qana massacre may have been taken from a graveyard. It was another lie."
As he states:
"we may well have the bodies-from-the-cemetery lie and we'll almost certainly have the Hamas-was-in-the-UN-school lie and we will very definitely have the anti-Semitism lie."
That is the backcloth to what is continuing.
I do not underestimate the fact or the number of the Israeli dead, but we have had 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week and thousands over the years since 1948. The size of the Gaza strip is just 360km2, which is twice the size of Glasgow. With a population of 1.5 million, it is the sixth most densely populated country in the world. Its population density is 30 per cent greater than that of Glasgow, and some 40 per cent of the population are children. Wherever strong missiles and shells are aimed by the Israelis, they are likely to hit a child.
Let us not forget that, whatever we think of Hamas, it won the Palestine parliamentary elections by popular vote, and international representatives observed the elections to be fair and free. I say to Ted Brocklebank that, if the boot were on the other foot and what is happening in the Gaza strip were happening in Israel with the same power, force and deaths, there would be a huge international outcry and calls to put in more than international aid. There would be calls not only for an immediate cease-fire but for a free flow of goods, medicines and all the other things that a nation requires to sustain itself.
The people have been under siege for decades. Teachers and policemen are not paid, and people have to drink contaminated water because the sewerage system is breaking down. Fishermen are shot if they go beyond the dirty waters to fish because—of course—the waters are also occupied by the Israelis. Ted Brocklebank should start reading Robert Fisk.
I am pleased that members have been given the opportunity to come together in this debate and I am sure that we can unanimously agree the terms of the motion. I welcome the Deputy First Minister's assurances on the many responses that the Scottish Government has already made.
As has been said, in December, Pauline McNeill secured a members' business debate on dignity for Palestinians. In that debate, we heard about the journey that she, Sandra White and Hugh O'Donnell had recently taken to Gaza and how things were at that time. Their descriptions were distressing and moving then, but now, as they feared, the situation has become much worse: we have not just a blockade of Gaza but what is being described as just short of all-out war. I have been careful with the tone of my speech to try to avoid becoming inarticulate with outrage, and I commend those who have managed to describe what has been happening in Gaza.
There are demonstrations throughout the world at which people are calling for a cease-fire. Here in Scotland, people are gathering outside the Parliament and elsewhere in Edinburgh, and in Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness and Galashiels, to name just a few, to call for a halt to the conflict. I watched the BBC news last night and heard about the three-hour respite from the conflict that has been granted to the Palestinians—three hours in which people can go outside, queue for food if they can find it, catch up with news and, sadly, bury their dead. I find the concept of a temporary humanitarian aid corridor reminiscent of the situations and language in the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four". It is a bizarre situation that I find horribly difficult to understand, given that everyone knows that the cease-fire will end and that the attacks will start again, which they duly did.
The BBC is beginning to analyse the very different strengths of firepower on the two sides and the consequently very different numbers of casualties. The public can make up their own minds about the rights and wrongs of the situation when they look at the facts. It is up to us to try to articulate those facts. However, yesterday's front-page news moves down the agenda today. Our debate is important because it can keep the conflict in the news here in Scotland and add to the international debate.
I am against all war and I deplore the loss of lives on all sides in conflicts. People in Gaza need food, cash and medical supplies. They need what everyone needs: the basics for a proper life. We must do everything in our power to ensure that there is a proper response. Supporting the motion is a small but necessary step.
Ted Brocklebank attempted to be fair and even-handed, but this is not the time to be fair and even-handed; this is the time for us to express our horror at what is happening to the people of Gaza at the hands of Israeli aeroplanes, troops, guns and tanks. This is a time for us to recognise that what is happening is entirely unfair, disproportionate and unconscionable.
I congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on bringing the matter to the Parliament for debate this morning. I also congratulate her on restricting the terms of the motion to what we can do. However, I draw members' attention to something else that we can do. We can put political pressure on the European Parliament. In particular, the parties that are represented in the Scottish Parliament can lean on their European representatives.
In December, against the advice of the European Parliament, the European foreign ministers decided to upgrade European Union relations with Israel. I shall repeat this at the end of what I am about to say, but I appeal to members to lean on their representatives in the European Parliament and ask them to keep up the pressure. The decision must be revoked.
Is the member aware that Alyn Smith MEP has a motion in the European Parliament on exactly that point? It proposes that we keep up the pressure on Israel and not have trade links while the conflict continues.
I thank Sandra White for that useful intervention. We can all lean on the other MEPs to support that motion.
The decision in December to support the upgrade in EU relations with Israel ignored the fact that Israel is in breach of an essential element of the earlier agreement, which requires states to respect
"human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement."
That is what both sides signed up to, but the agreement has been unilaterally abrogated by the Israeli Government. Israel and, indeed, the world would view endorsing an upgrade of relations at this time as an endorsement of Israel's gross and repeated breaches of international human rights and international humanitarian law.
The EU should go further and suspend the current EU-Israel association agreement, to send a strong message to the Israeli authorities about the EU's refusal to tolerate persistent human rights breaches. No new agreements must be made with Israel until it meets commitments on human rights and democratic principles, as enshrined in the current association agreement.
Violence can never be justified or condoned, and the longer the deadly blockade and occupation continue, the further away the conditions for peace will get. I appeal to members to lean on their MEPs and support the motion that has been lodged in the European Parliament. The Government must do everything it can and we must do whatever we can in the Scottish Parliament.
I thank the Scottish Government for lodging the motion.
Since 27 December, we have witnessed an assault on Gaza that is unlike anything before. The numbers involved are truly horrific. Almost 700 Palestinians are dead and more than 3,000 people, including many women and children, have been injured.
As many of us know, Gaza has been under Israeli blockade for the past 18 months. Hospitals are fast running out of medical supplies and the region's power supply is at a critically low level. Furthermore, almost 85 per cent of Gazans depend on food aid. With the addition of the conflict in the past 12 days, we are now witnessing a full-blown human catastrophe.
I and a number of my parliamentary colleagues condemn the Israeli aggression that we have witnessed. I echo members' calls for an immediate end to attacks on the Gazan people. Hamas must also stop firing rockets.
As has been mentioned, aid workers from Islamic Relief and other Scottish aid agencies are risking their lives to help distribute the most basic essentials to the people of Gaza. They must be congratulated on their brave efforts, but we must consider what else Scotland can do. In previous conflicts, Scottish hospitals have treated the badly injured. I ask the cabinet secretary to look into that possibility to show the ordinary people of Gaza that we stand with them at this difficult time.
Peace is never achieved through the barrel of a gun; it is achieved only through dialogue. I sincerely hope that those who can effect change in the region act in a fair, balanced and humanitarian manner. There is no doubt that, as a nation, we will offer to play whatever role we can to achieve what many people see as impossible: a lasting peace in the middle east.
I welcome the opportunity to take part in this important debate. It is right and proper that the Scottish Parliament should express its view on the crisis in Gaza.
We all know the genesis of the current Israeli attack on Gaza. Colleagues around the chamber have ably talked about the history of the region; I will not repeat what they have said. In the past few weeks, Israel has claimed that the attack is an attempt to weaken Hamas. Let us examine that claim. Hamas forms the elected Government of Palestine. That might not be my or the UK Government's choice—it is certainly not Israel's choice—but it is the Palestinians' choice. If anything is guaranteed to strengthen Hamas's position, it is the current series of attacks. In a radio interview at the weekend, the only Fatah MP left in Nablus—which was once so associated with Fatah that it was known as "Fatah City"—declared his view that Israel's attack would undoubtedly strengthen the hand and position of Hamas.
The very nature of the Gaza strip means that an attack on Hamas is, of course, an attack on Palestinian men, women and children. Israel knows that. Israel's claims that it
"makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties"
surely stretch our credibility. It also knows that its actions in the months and years before the current incursion have weakened the Gaza strip's infrastructure, reduced fuel levels in the area and left hospitals struggling on back-up generators, many of which are already failing. Five UN health centres have closed because of the recent hostilities. If we add to that the lack of basic medical supplies, we can only begin to imagine the plight of the injured—of whom there were some 2,700 by 6 January—and the despair of the medical and nursing staff who are trying to treat them. No one can have any doubts about the scale of the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding before us.
I welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to assist the humanitarian efforts. NGOs such as the UN and the Red Cross have important roles, and we must neither forget nor underestimate their work and the perils that they face in trying to deliver assistance.
As has been mentioned, there was a three-hour break in hostilities yesterday to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered. That exercise, which was welcome, will be repeated today, but it is simply not enough. Agencies have reported that, during the brief lull, Gazans rushed on to the streets to buy essential supplies and check on friends and family members whom they had not been able to have contact with in recent days.
The conflict can end only by means of a cease-fire. Hugh O'Donnell was right to say that a military solution will not work. It is vital that the international community puts pressure on Israel and Hamas to end all violence as soon as possible.
In 1967, in the aftermath of the six-day war, the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed resolution 242, which still stands. That resolution emphasised
"the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security".
Time does not allow me to read out the full resolution, but suffice it to say its terms have never been honoured. It is as relevant today as it was in 1967. There must be a viable Palestinian state and a secure Israel, and the resolution is the key to solving the problems of the middle east, which must remain the ultimate objective.
Today, the Holyrood Parliament joins legislatures across the globe in calling for a cease-fire in the current crisis. The people of Gaza are calling out for such a cease-fire, and we must add our voice to theirs.
Like millions of other people, I am absolutely shocked by the huge scale of the Israeli attacks that have been taking place since 27 December and which we have seen on the worldwide television news. With 1.5 million people crammed into the Gaza strip, high levels of civilian casualties were inevitable. There is no credibility in the Israeli statement that the Palestinians have used people as human shields, because it is impossible to have human shields when so many people are crammed into such a small space anyway.
In December, I attended the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on Palestine. The feedback from Hugh O'Donnell, Sandra White and Pauline McNeill on their audacious boat trip to Gaza was absolutely heartbreaking. There was also feedback from Palestinian people, many of whom had suffered for years in their homeland at the hands of the Israelis. There was feedback, too, from aid workers who had been attacked and harangued out of Gaza, and from Scots who had lived in Gaza and had felt that in many ways they were living under occupation. We heard heartbreaking points from all. We heard that no spare parts are allowed for sewerage systems and how Israeli gunboats force fishermen to remain close to the shore and to fish in waters that are contaminated with sewage, which inevitably contaminates the food chain.
I decided to be no armchair supporter. I was sufficiently moved to join 2,000 demonstrators in Glasgow last Saturday. A cross-party group of MSPs was there in support of the demonstration, although there were no Tories. The demonstration, which was on behalf of and in support of the people of Gaza and Palestinians worldwide, was peaceful but vociferous. The heartbreaking news about what has been going on in Gaza, particularly since 27 December, was well elocuted by many. I cannot condone the rocket attacks on Israel, but the Israeli response is utterly disproportionate. All violence must stop now and not just for three hours per day. Violence breeds violence and only a democratic settlement will bring lasting peace.
Nicola Sturgeon was absolutely right that almost all Scots are concerned about the situation. As she said, the violence is shattering and hopes for a long-term peace are the way ahead. I back those sentiments fully. The motion's focus on charities and NGOs pulling together is the right approach. The one point on which I agree with Ted Brocklebank is that that is one response that Scotland can make, whereas we cannot act on many other matters. Nicola Sturgeon also referred to the MSPs' trip to Gaza in November. That was a brave and audacious attempt by our colleagues to provide aid. They definitely managed to do that and I am glad that they did. At the end of the day, as Nicola Sturgeon said, we hope that the Parliament will speak with one voice on the issue. It is crucial that we do so.
Pauline McNeill was one of the members who went on the trip to Gaza. She talked about how Scotland can respond to the crisis in humanitarian ways. We heard much about that at the demonstration last Saturday. People can comment here and elsewhere on what is happening to try to ensure that the Palestinians' story gets out to a worldwide audience. We can also comment on the scale of the suffering, which has been going on for many years and not just since 27 December. Pauline McNeill rightly suggested that the public expect us to add our voice to that of others. The world focus must be on an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Some Israelis, and even George Bush, have denied that there is a humanitarian crisis. There is no credibility whatever in that statement. I am glad that Mr Bush is going, but I wish that I could believe that the Israeli Government will be more reasonable in the future. I do not hold out too much hope of that.
Ted Brocklebank's speech was sad indeed. Although he deplored the tragic deaths of civilians in Gaza, including those of 200 children, he soured the debate somewhat, which was rather sad to witness. Hamas is not just a militant organisation—no more than the Tories are in the Parliament. It is unfortunate that Ted Brocklebank took that line. My colleague Hugh O'Donnell, who took part in the trip to Gaza, made a good speech. I am glad that he congratulated the organisations that are taking practical steps to help people in Gaza. The Liberal Democrats' UK leader, Nick Clegg, has called on the UK Government to stop arming the Israelis. I certainly back that call.
Naturally, the debate has at times been emotionally charged—so it must be when images of raw conflict are broadcast into our homes as it happens. The debate has borne witness to the personal commitments of members from across the Parliament to the troubles and peoples in the region and to members' passions. I make no complaint about that. The motion acknowledges the suffering, about which we have heard testimony, and recognises and welcomes the role that Scotland can play in adding to the international humanitarian relief, even though responsibility for international representation rests with the Government at Westminster.
The Parliament has a direct responsibility for the public in Scotland. The actions of the Government of Israel are the responsibility of that Government and not of the Jewish population here in Scotland. I therefore express my dismay that the heightened language of some is being used to justify remarks by others, publicly published, that can be described only as dangerously anti-Semitic. We have a duty to choose our words carefully, as do the press in their columns. For example, it was questionable for The Herald to publish remarks from a well-known contributor that included veiled threats to
"the state of Israel and Jews all over the world."
Two and a half years ago, during the events that culminated in the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, similar language and lack of editorial control in The Herald and The Scotsman, particularly on their websites, led to an unprecedented level of hostility to the Scottish Jewish community, the vast majority of whom live in Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Many talked of feeling intimidated, for the first time in their lives, when walking the streets and they were appalled by a disgraceful attack on the Jewish cemetery in Glasgow. In the past 24 hours, senior members of the Jewish community have reported to me an increase in nuisance calls to Jewish—not Israeli—organisations and the distribution of hate mail to the community. I have a copy of one piece of such mail, which is chilling and as fundamentally unacceptable as are attacks on the integrity of the Muslim population in Scotland, or fear and suspicion of that population, in response to domestic terrorism.
In this month, when we commemorate the millions of lives that were lost in the Holocaust, we must remember that paying lip service to that commemoration is not enough. The debt that is owed to the international Jewish community was recognised in the establishment of the Israeli state. It has a right to exist and to defend itself. However unwelcome the observation is today, the fact is that, ever since the withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas has continued to pepper Israel with rocket attacks. Those attacks are now being complemented with the use of longer-range successor rockets, the reach of which places nearly a million Israeli citizens at very real risk. It is the duty of their Government to defend them.
Some people have raised exaggerated expectations for President-elect Obama. He has been reluctant to become involved in the debate ahead of his inauguration, but he has previously commented thus:
"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing".
I applaud that comment. There is not much difference between Obama's reaction and that of the Bush Administration.
This is not a time to speak against a cease-fire—far from it. The Israeli objectives—to destroy the weapons supply tunnels that are tolerated by her neighbour and effectively to emasculate the Hamas military potential—need to be secured promptly, as much to prevent the escalation that the rockets that were launched a few hours ago from Lebanon might presage as for any other reason. However, the cease-fire must be a cease-fire on all sides. Therein lies the difficulty, for unlike the Irish Republican Army, which, in the talks on and resolution of the conflict in our country, accepted that an armed solution had no future, Hamas has no such compunction. There is no point in Mr O'Donnell ignoring that truth, nor for that matter in Christine Grahame quoting Robert Fisk, passionate as he is, as anything other than a highly partisan anti-Jewish correspondent. Any cease-fire cannot be used by Hamas as an interlude to rearm and recommence rocket attacks.
Hamas is a terrorist organisation that is determined to have an armed struggle and which has set its face against the reason of most others in the region, who have recognised that a negotiated two-state solution is not only the only proper solution, but one that is actually achievable. Meanwhile, the 1.5 million civilians in Gaza are trapped in the most ghastly of situations. Their security and welfare have been ruthlessly exploited by Hamas, which deliberately sites its rocket launchers in schools, mosques and elsewhere where it hopes to hide behind human shields and exploit the consequences.
The current conflict must end promptly. We must all hope that the Franco-Egyptian initiative achieves that. Thereafter, with fresh moral authority, the incoming US Administration of Barack Obama needs to work with the people, including President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, who are dedicated to securing a positive and lasting peaceful solution. Hamas can participate if it finally accepts the very clear conditions that were set in 2006: to renounce violence, abide by previous agreements, and accept the basic right of the state of Israel to exist.
Meanwhile, I give every encouragement to people in Scotland who are responding to the humanitarian situation. Theirs is an urgent response to the immediate need of innocents who are caught up in the heart of an avoidable tragedy.
The business manager of the Conservative party was quite helpful in allowing us to secure a debate this morning. However, I am sad to say that the speakers from the Conservative party have not reflected their business manager's spirit. [Interruption.]
Order.
Will the member take an intervention?
I will not.
I want to address the points that were made by Ted Brocklebank and Jackson Carlaw, who should perhaps clarify their position.
Ted Brocklebank suggested, or inferred, that 75 per cent of the Palestinian casualties were Hamas terrorists; he did not say that directly, but he implied it. Does that mean that the children who have been killed in the air attacks—20 per cent of all those killed—are the terrorists? There have been bombings of whole families—of 15 or 16 members of the same family. Are they the terrorists? What about the women who are lying on hospital floors, who cannot be treated because there is virtually no space for them? Are they the terrorists? Surely the Conservatives cannot believe the propaganda on that.
We have not witnessed anything like this for years in the middle east. Let me make our position clear. There has been a suggestion that we are not calling for a cease-fire on both sides, but that is not the case; we are calling unequivocally for a cease-fire from Hamas and from the Israelis, who have the most powerful army in the world.
Robin Harper said that perhaps the problem is that we have been too even-handed in our approach. Many commentators have said that while we have clearly supported Israel's right to defend itself, its right to security and its right to exist, our failure to criticise its repeated violations of international law is perhaps where the international community has failed.
Hugh O'Donnell was brave enough to ask why only the Palestinians should pay the debt for the horrors inflicted on the Jewish people.
I cannot leave Jackson Carlaw's point unanswered. He is absolutely right to say that there have been attacks on Jewish communities in this country. I, and others, have written directly to The Scotsman and The Herald about the blogging that I believe is anti-Semitic. We are in unity with the Conservatives on that point. Many Jewish people in Scotland have spoken out bravely about Israel. We always make the clear distinction that we are talking not about the Jewish race, but about the actions of the Israeli Government and leaders. I have always believed—and this is true now more than ever—that the Israeli people and the Palestinian people want a settlement. Let us be clear that the leaders on all sides have failed to deliver that.
Patricia Ferguson and others talked about the Palestinian elections of 2006. I was there; I observed the elections and even I was shocked by the radicalisation that had taken place in the west bank as well as the Gaza strip, with 70 per cent of the popular vote going to Hamas. That would not be my choice—Patricia Ferguson said that, too—but we can see why people made it.
When I met Isaac Herzog, a Labour minister in the Knesset, who has been on television in the past few days, he admitted to me and to other MPs that they humiliated and failed the Fatah leadership and, as a result, the Palestinian people wondered what the point was of voting for a moderate Government if it was going to be ignored. What was the world's response? We asked Hamas to lay down its arms and enter into dialogue, but on day 1 of the elections we withdrew all the financial support. Ever since then, the ordinary people of Palestine have suffered.
I am afraid to say that there are analogies with what happened in Lebanon, which I also visited, when the Israeli army bombed a UN shelter in Qana to which civilians had fled. Under international law—perhaps this will be disputed, too—people are not supposed to bomb UN points of security to which people have fled. In Qana, there are graves of civilians who were killed when the shelter to which they ran, with big blue UN flags displayed everywhere, was bombed. A similar thing happened last night. Even the UN workers said that there was no evidence of firing from the school. Are they not telling the truth, either—who knows? I like to think that the end result was unacceptable to any human being.
I am glad that we have had the opportunity to exchange views, which is important. We must find points of common ground, despite the fact that we may disagree about how to resolve a conflict that has been around for 60 years. On Saturday, members of the general public came along to hand over things from their medicine cupboards, such as medicine that was in date, because they wanted to do something practical. We can do something practical, too.
Since I came back from Gaza in April, I have been working with Edinburgh Direct Aid to try to get a convoy of medical aid and equipment to Gaza. That will prove difficult now. It would be crazy to suggest that we should even attempt it until the current situation has been assessed. It would be a symbolic gesture, but I think that Scots want to make that connection. They believe what we believe and, like everybody in the middle east, they want peace. Until we get peace, they want to do something practical to help. I appeal to all members of the Parliament who want to do something practical to write to pharmacies in their area to ask whether they are willing to donate medicine. If we cannot take it to Gaza, there are plenty of agencies that will.
On Friday, Greater Glasgow Health Board agreed to donate decommissioned equipment so it can be taken to Gaza. As we know, people there are in need of absolutely everything. We have perfectly good equipment here, such as full anaesthetic machines, which they could use. It is just a question of getting it over there.
It is absolutely right that the Parliament discusses these issues. Throughout the debate, we have heard the depth of feeling that the developing humanitarian crisis in Gaza has generated here and elsewhere. In Scotland, the UK and beyond, people have been demonstrating because they are sickened by what they are seeing and because they recognise that a death by violence is an unjust death.
We have heard about the history and complexity of the politics of the region, which are long standing. We heard about the failure of UN resolutions and the failure to secure a viable two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.
All citizens of the world have the right to go about their business without fear of attack and, as we have heard today, a people must attend to its security. However, the Israeli Government must also know that world opinion and its long-term self-interest cannot be reconciled with the effects that the recent bombing and ground offensive have had on the people of Gaza.
More than 600 Palestinians have died since the military offensive began and more than 13,000 people have been displaced. As Sandra White and others have said, people have been displaced within a tight settlement, which has been blockaded for such a long time. These people have nowhere to run to. Food is in short supply and more than 70 per cent of people are without a water supply. Medical facilities are under extreme pressure. As the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said, having a three-hour cease-fire each day on both sides and having a humanitarian corridor open, is completely insufficient to feed 750,000 people a day. A permanent cease-fire is needed.
Whatever one believes about the politics of the region, the humanitarian plight of the people of Gaza is straightforward. At least we have achieved consensus on that today. I am glad that we can all add our support to those Scots and Scottish organisations that are contributing to the international efforts to confront the food, water, energy and medical emergencies that the conflict in Gaza has brought about.
A number of NGOs and aid agencies that are based in Scotland are currently working in Gaza. For example, Christian Aid Scotland is supporting the partner organisation the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, which is working in Gaza's hospitals. Also, Mercy Corps Scotland expects to deliver more than $250,000 worth of food, non-food items and medical supplies to the war-affected families. However, its truck-load of food commodities remains in the queue of vehicles at the closed border for entry into Gaza. The border is also closed to humanitarian personnel. Mercy Corps is continuing to lobby and make applications for entry into the Gaza strip to enable it to disperse those supplies.
The British Red Cross has donated £75,000 to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. We have heard much in the debate about the work of Islamic Relief. Its assistance includes emergency food supplies, food aid to hospitals and the purchase of medical equipment in the west bank for delivery to Gaza. In addition, Save the Children is providing food and medical supplies and Oxfam UK, which works with partners in Gaza, is trying to gain access.
As Nicola Sturgeon said, Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with NGOs that are working on the ground in Gaza. We stand ready to respond favourably to any request for humanitarian assistance. In that regard, the main problem at the moment, according to the Department for International Development, is not the lack of assistance that is being offered but the ability to get that assistance to the people of Gaza. As Des McNulty said, we all have a responsibility to try to help any people who are suffering as much as the people of Gaza are suffering; they need that human response from the rest of us.
I return to the cease-fire. Only a complete cessation of violence will suffice; three-hourly pauses in bombing are absolutely insufficient to help the Gazan people. Only when arms are laid to rest and dialogue begins will the people of Gaza be able to rebuild their lives.
We are in contact with DFID, as we are with the Scottish NGOs and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is essential that, when we are enabled to be of assistance, the response should be a co-ordinated one. DFID has pledged £4 million of humanitarian assistance. Again, it has stated with our full backing that full and safe access for supplies and aid workers is essential. On behalf of the Parliament, I express our respect for Scottish aid workers who go to places of danger. We respect their absolute care for the plight of others wherever they live in the world.
The long-term peace and security of the peoples of Israel and Palestine depend on meaningful dialogue and a two-state solution. At times, one can feel that people have been talking for long enough and that we are hitting our heads off a brick wall, but finding a meaningful solution to any violent conflict around the world is never easy. Any solution depends on dialogue and on people of closed minds opening up their minds. We have seen examples of that many times round the world. I am sure that each member can think of an example.
Closed minds have to be opened; there has to be a new beginning. Courage and bravery on both sides are needed if people are to start afresh and sit down together. All Governments must care seriously about the people whom they represent. Governments around the world, particularly those with influence, should be striving to represent their people and working to achieve a solution.
I ask members to support the motion at decision time.