Chamber and committees

The situation in Gaza is obviously very different from that in the west bank, in that there is a war currently going on in Gaza and the ability to get any supplies into Gaza is extremely restricted. That is one of the things that have caused real distress to the United Nations and its agencies. It is still only a very small proportion of humanitarian supplies—such as food and the oil supplies that are required to maintain generators for hospitals and other public services—that are getting in. That is only a tiny percentage of that which UNRWA calculates is required.

Mr Ruskell has named a number of towns, cities and communities in the west bank, which are in a different situation: they are not in the same war situation as Gaza at the present time. I am sure that communities in Scotland that have links there will be thinking a lot about what they can do, in exactly the same way that the Scottish Government has been thinking about what we can do to help people in distress. That is why we have been supportive of the United Nations, which has the organisation on the ground and which is best able to calculate how best to provide support. I encourage local authorities that have links with communities to avail themselves of the likes of UNRWA, the United Nations agency with responsibility for supporting Palestinians in the near east, as a primary point of contact. Many other organisations also have an established track record of working in the west bank and, in the past, in Gaza.

I am not aware that there has been any change in the guidance, but if it would be helpful to Mr Ruskell, I will ensure that I forward on to him—through you, convener—the current status of that. As I have just said, however, I am not aware of there having been any change in that guidance.

As I confirmed in my opening statement, in addition to our already-announced commitment of £0.5 million of support for the people of Gaza through UNRWA, the amount of money has been raised, and the total now stands at £750,000.

The United Kingdom Government has also announced humanitarian aid support, and members of the public who want to be supportive need to know that a range of organisations, not least UNRWA, can be supported. UNRWA has launched a flash appeal, but in addition there is the likes of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is very involved on the ground and is also seeking to raise funds to deal with the scale of the crisis. It is a good opportunity to underline what the Scottish Government, the UK Government and members of the public are able to do.

One of the hopes in the days ahead—I know that there is a lot of diplomatic effort behind the scenes to try to make this possible—is that supplies will be able to get in. It is not simply a question of being able to open the Rafah crossing. Given the level of destruction in Gaza, it is extremely difficult to get supplies to different parts of Gaza, so it is a very complicated situation.

I think that we can rest on the fact that the likes of the United Nations and the IFRC have impeccable track records and the strongest infrastructure on the ground. I have no doubt that there are other organisations that are extremely capable—for example, Islamic Relief is an organisation that is very active in Scotland, and there will no doubt be other faith-based charities and others that are very well established and are unimpeachable.

As long as people support those well-known and well-trusted organisations, I think that there is little reason to worry. Nothing has been raised with me that gives me concern, but should there be, I will make sure that the committee is updated.

There is a lot in Ms Forbes’s questions. First, on her observations about parents and children, the situation is heartbreaking, as is the feeling of powerlessness. I think that we have to ask ourselves how many children have to die before it stops, because it cannot go on forever. At some point, all conflicts—to my knowledge—come to an end, no matter how appalling or complex.

We might think back to situations such as those in South Africa or Northern Ireland in which resolution was thought to be impossible or unimaginable, or very far off. Indeed, I think back to efforts in the 1990s regarding the middle east. Again, that was thought to be unimaginable at the time. The international community needs to look at itself in the mirror and ask whether enough has been done between then and now. I think that we all have to be self-critical—self-evidently, not enough has been done. The current situation is an unresolved conflict, and there is more that we can do.

What can a small country of 5 million people in northern Europe do in such a circumstance? First, one should be conscious that one has agency. We might think of some of the most testing conflicts in which there have been peace processes—I am thinking, for example, of the role of Norway or of Finland, where we recently saw the passing of President Martti Ahtisaari, who played a big role in peace processes. We might think of the roles that were played in countries such as Sri Lanka, and see that these northern European nations—indeed, including our own—have been host to meetings that have sought to further peace processes, such as the talks in St Andrews in relation to Northern Ireland.

I have some experience myself in that area, having hosted the first ever peace talks outside the former Soviet Union involving Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. I think that it is true to say that Scotland can offer something, even if it is just a place for people to meet in private or in other circumstances.

The member asked about people and about capability. We need to be conscious that we have people with very significant experience in this area—not least Mark Muller, whom many members will know because of his role in Beyond Borders Scotland, which works out of Traquair house in the Borders, and his involvement with UN conflict resolution. We have very deep and capable academic expertise in the relevant area. Recently, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, which involves internationally well-respected academics in the field of international relations in peace and security, was founded.

A wide sector of organisations wish to be supportive and helpful. That can only work if the people who are involved in a particular conflict realise that the time has come for peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu does not think that; he thinks that now is “a time for war”—that is how he put it, quoting the Bible. We can wish and call for peace and ceasefires; however, unfortunately, if those calls are ignored, the killing, the dying and the loss of children to lots of parents will continue. Those people deserve better.

The offer of help and support for potential refugees from the conflict was outlined in a detailed letter from Shirley-Anne Somerville to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, with a view to initiating such conversations—to get officials from the Scottish Government and the Home Office, and others, into discussions to begin the process of considering how one might manage and best do such a thing.

Mr Cameron is absolutely right. There is a context, in as much as we have experience in all that, which is a good thing. However, every situation that involves the arrival of refugees is, by its very nature, different. One of the big differences between this conflict and the conflict in Ukraine is that, in Ukraine, people who were living in non-occupied territories had a way out. That is not the case for people in Gaza—they are not able to leave. Nobody, therefore, anticipates any sudden and dramatic movement of people. In fact, over the years and decades, Governments in the region have been clear that they do not want the displacement of Palestinians outside the west bank and the Gaza strip. We are therefore right to say to colleagues in UK Government departments that we wish to begin those technical discussions. I hope that that offer will be taken up and that those discussions can take place, because they should take place.

In the immediate period, given the scale of casualties and the inability of the health system in Gaza to deal with them, it has to be a priority for everybody to try to help and support, in the first instance, the Egyptian authorities and health system to treat the most seriously injured casualties who cannot be treated in Gaza. The Egyptians have set up an emergency medical facility very close to the Rafah border crossing to treat injured people close to where they are, but there may be very serious cases where advanced medical intervention could be better provided by other countries, which might include our own. In addition to any preparations for helping refugees, we should be alive to that, because we have an excellent health service with considerable experience. We should do our best to help people who are in need of medical support, as well as those who seek refuge.

The First Minister has spoken in person to the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad, who is Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations, about those questions. The committee and the country are aware that the First Minister has family who are trapped in Gaza, together with others who have a connection to Scotland, the UK and other countries.

There has been correspondence with the UK Government, and there has been correspondence between the Scottish Government and the Israeli embassy and with the Palestinian representative office in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government’s positions in relation to the unconditional condemnation of Hamas, the right of Israel to self-defence, the support of international humanitarian law, the call for a ceasefire and the call for the support of international organisations to provide necessary aid to the people of Gaza have all been communicated to all those who I mentioned, and we will continue to do so.

The first step is to have intense points of contact with both communities. As members will be aware, the First Minister has visited the synagogue in Giffnock and has also been to a number of mosques. Initiatives are being supported via Interfaith Scotland to bring together not just the Jewish and Muslim faith leaders but those of Christian and other denominations. We are communicating with them intensively to work out what can be done.

As I have raised with my colleagues, I am mindful that various faith communities’ high and holy days are approaching in the weeks and months ahead. We must ensure that our communities are able to celebrate important days in their religious calendars without any fear or concern. We must therefore ensure that we talk to them as much as we can do—as a Government, but also as parliamentarians and community leaders in our own right. I look to all committee members, and all colleagues across the parties in the Scottish Parliament, to play a role in that. Notwithstanding the severity of the situation, and the challenges that we know people face, we must remain focused on doing everything that we can to maintain the best community relations that we can achieve. Sadly, current international examples illustrate such relations being tested very sorely.

You are absolutely correct that the international community is concerned about the potential for widening an already appalling situation, and you are right to point to the risks of escalation in Lebanon and Israel. The feeling is that, every day, the shooting between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces is ratcheting up. Yesterday, the Yemeni armed forces launched missiles in the direction of Israel, and other organisations in and around Israel will be close to the Iranian Government. International Governments—not least that of the United States of America, which is able to exercise significant diplomatic and military presence—are focused on ensuring that the conflict does not escalate more widely. The Scottish Government does not have a direct locus in that: foreign affairs, defence and security are matters for the United Kingdom Government.

Our position would be to support UK diplomatic efforts and those of the international community to do everything to ensure that there is not a widening of the conflict. I do not need to tell this committee, nor anybody watching the proceedings, that the situation in Gaza, the west bank and Israel has been long and troubled and previous wars have involved neighbouring countries. The risks are in plain sight.

We would support anything that can be done to help avoid an escalation and we encourage those with a locus and an ability to do so to emphasise restraint on all parties. We would welcome that.

I would have to discuss the detail of which organisations we have had and continue to have links with beyond the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is the principal agency for the international community.

We all appreciate that, because of the extreme nature of the circumstance and the extreme distress in which people in Gaza find themselves, it is primarily UNRWA, the UN agency, that has the capability. We should put on the record that UNRWA is also having to pay an incredibly high price for its efforts on the ground. I think that I am right in saying that, since the beginning of the recent conflict, more than 70 members of UNRWA staff have died trying to maintain the places of safety that they have and to get supplies to the warehouses to be distributed. That is why our principal focus is on UNRWA, which has launched a flash appeal.

However, we will keep under constant review our relationship with other charities and third sector organisations, in particular those with which we have an established relationship. We will try to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent as well as it can possibly be spent in such circumstances. I am sure that people will welcome the fact that we and others are doing what we can to support the UN and other agencies to do what they can on the ground to help people who do not have food or drinking water, who often do not have shelter and many of whom now do not have hope. We need to do everything that we possibly can and we intend to continue doing so.