Chamber and committees

When they come out of prison, they would then have to be managed as a drug user, whereas, when they went into prison, they were an alcohol user.

Good morning. Dr Lesley Graham, you are absolutely right that a lot of the discussion about prison management has been about drugs, and it is really important that you are here to talk about the prevalence in issues around the management of those people who are dependent on alcohol.

The committee has been trying to learn a bit more about how prisons run and how drugs get into prison. We know a lot more now, but I wonder whether you want to comment on how it is happening. Is it happening a different way? For example, we know that drones are used for drugs. The general public are always mystified; people think that it is easy and ask why we cannot just stop drugs coming in. However, we realise that it is a really difficult thing. The comings and goings in the prison service—the deliveries for the kitchens for example—and the advent of drones make the job of the prison service much harder. I just want to get your views on that.

Can you tell us anything about how alcohol gets into prisons, rather than drugs?

The point that I was making was that, if a Palestinian is shot and there is no accountability, surely the member would accept that that is not compliant with what a normal country would do in holding criminality to account. That is my concern. Does he understand where I was coming from?

Will the member take an intervention?

Is the minister familiar with the case of Palestinian Awdah Hathaleen, who was shot dead in the West Bank only a few weeks ago? Does he agree that, under this Netanyahu Government, Israel has become a lawless state? A man, whom we have all seen if we have watched the footage, shot Awdah Hathaleen dead, but there will not be a trial or any kind of accountability. Can we see now that Israel is not a democracy if it does not have a court system?

Amir walked 12km to a food distribution point, barefoot, to get food for his family. He kissed the hand of an American soldier, thanking him for a bag of lentils. The Israel Defense Forces killed him right in front of the soldier—executed him in broad daylight. He was five years old.

The dignity of the Palestinians is unmatched in the world. In the middle of acute famine, they remain dignified and hopeful. A former US special forces officer resigned from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation because he had not in his entire career witnessed such brutality and use of indiscriminate force against an unarmed population, including the use of quadcopters and artificial intelligence-assisted killing.

Six-year-old children in Gaza are planning their own funerals. They know that they face death, and many are scared that they will not die with their parents. Israel and its Government have crossed a clear line into the darkest crimes. Death by deliberate starvation is a war crime—there is hardly a serious journalist who does not now accept that it is deliberate. Bombing hospitals and targeting doctors and medical staff has become commonplace. Dr Hussam Abu Safiyah is being held in an Israeli jail, and his lawyer said that he has been tortured and they do not know why.

Two hundred journalists have been killed trying to hold Israel to account. Israel has gone to extreme lengths to prevent the world from witnessing its genocide and it is committing multiple war crimes. The famine is the ugliest aspect, because it leaves permanent damage to the health of the population, and we have perhaps reached the point of no return. Back-to-back strikes on Nasser hospital caused outrage because journalists were murdered when they found a spot on the rooftop of the hospital that had a good internet connection. Evidence shows that missiles were directed at that spot. A double-tap hit, as it is known by those in the military, means that you fool the victim into thinking that they survived the hit only to carry out a bigger hit thereafter.

Israel is not held to a higher standard. Israel is held to the standards of international law, and all of those things are breaches of international law. It is not a war. It is clear that it is a deliberate plan to obliterate the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip or force them to flee. The Israeli Cabinet does not equate Palestinian lives to Jewish lives and it openly states its genocidal intentions. If you have been reading closely, you will know that even the chief of the IDF is saying to Netanyahu, “We cannot do this.” There are voices in the army trying to argue with Netanyahu, and there are many Israeli voices on their streets saying “This does not represent the Israel that we fought for.” That is the most important thing about the question of Israel’s future.

Humza Yousaf is quite right to talk about the impunity that Israel has been allowed since the occupation started in 1967. No one has been willing to hold Israel to account for its occupation. It has been acting in contravention of international law by occupying the West Bank and putting the Gaza Strip under siege for 18 years. If you have been paying attention to what is happening in the West Bank, you will know that Israel’s Administration has made it a lawless state. I mentioned earlier to the minister that Awdah Hathaleen was known by many people who go to Hebron because he was the person who shows people around and shows what Hebron is really like under occupation. He was shot dead in his own land, and there will be no accountability for that.

Like Katy Clark, Neil Bibby, Carol Mochan and others, I believe that we owe the Palestinian people nothing less than the immediate recognition of their sovereign state, without any conditions whatsoever. We must give the Palestinians the dignity that they deserve by having their country be a full member of the United Nations, and I dearly hope that there can be unanimity on that tonight. The Scottish Parliament speaking with one voice on recognition is a very powerful thing. Like many other speakers, I passionately believe that peace can come about for Israel and Palestinians only when we settle that question. The whole region depends on settling that question, and I hope that we can ensure that the occupation comes to an end.

There must be consequences for the state of Israel. It has already faced some, such as the suspension of trade negotiations and the banning of goods that have been imported from illegal settlements, which has been a policy for quite a long time. I broadly support the Scottish Government’s statement—it was really good. Nothing can be off the table to prevent the genocide and bring about compliance with international law.

In a good speech, Patrick Harvie said that

“the world must work together”,

and I do not think that there has ever been a truer statement. If we are to make up for the ways that the Palestinian people have been failed, which the world has made happen, we must ensure that whatever action we take is targeted so that we can do something about the genocide and bring an end to the occupation. I believe that the UK Government should go further on that.

The brave people in Israel who are marching and challenging their own Government also need to be recognised in the debate.

Please let the Parliament speak with one voice tonight. Let the Parliament show that Scotland—all of its parties—believes in justice for the Palestinians. Peace can only come about if we add our voice to those of the other 147 countries, because isolating some of the big powers will be a very powerful thing.

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?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review planning laws regarding the provision of private purpose-built student accommodation, in light of reported concerns over the concentration of student accommodation in certain localities and objections from local residents. (S6O-04851)

Scotland needs good, affordable student accommodation, but the way that planning consents are being granted in Glasgow makes it seem as if they are being handed out as an easy fix for gap sites. We are seeing oversaturation because purpose-built student accommodation is currently favoured by investors due to the ability to charge high rents. Last week, a proposed nine-storey student accommodation block was approved on the site of the former O2 ABC iconic music venue, but that is just one of many student developments that have been heavily objected to by local residents and community groups.

Does the minister share my concerns about the volume of applications for purpose-built student accommodation where there is already saturation? Does he agree that there should be a right to challenge overprovision—a right that does not exist now?