The final item of business this evening is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-17933, in the name of Bill Kidd, on the on-going crisis in Gaza. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons, and I call Bill Kidd to open the debate.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament echoes the “grave concerns” of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the reportedly catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza; notes the calls, including from constituents in Glasgow Anniesland, for an immediate ceasefire and the safe release of all hostages, alongside the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and further notes the belief that international recognition of a sovereign independent state of Palestine, as part of a two-state solution, is the fundamental pillar upon which a lasting peace in the Middle East depends.
18:24
More than 55,000 people have been killed and more than 127,000 people have been injured. More than 70 per cent of Gaza has been bombed into oblivion. Since 18 March this year, more than 80 per cent of Gaza has been under displacement orders or military control orders. Each day brings more untold horror. Each new report, each image and each child’s cry pierces the conscience of the world—or at least it should.
My heart goes out, as must all our hearts, to those who are directly affected—to those in Gaza who are enduring unimaginable suffering, to the families of hostages and victims, and to those in Scotland who feel that pain deeply and personally. It is a pain that we all share, whether we choose to openly acknowledge it or not.
Parliament debated this very issue in the early days of the war. At that time, some members expressed understanding for Israel’s initial actions, citing security reasons or the right to self-defence. However, I do not believe—I do not hope—that people in this Parliament continue to stand by those words in today’s circumstances. How can we defend the indefensible? How can we defend systematic destruction and blatant genocide? How can we defend mass starvation and the deliberate targeting of civilians who are seeking aid?
Only last night, I listened to a British doctor who is working in Gaza. He described the injuries of civilians—men, women and children—who had been shot while attempting to reach aid distribution points. He said that those injuries could have been inflicted only on people who were lying face down in the sand, cowering in fear, unarmed and seeking food. Those were people desperate to live, and what they found instead was a firing line—a shooting gallery. That is not just indiscriminate or inhumane; it is a direct affront to every humanitarian principle that we claim to uphold in the international order.
Yet where is the outrage? Where are the sanctions? Where, indeed, is any action? We have seen the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants, both for Hamas leaders and for the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. What is the response from the United Kingdom Government and the UK Prime Minister? At best, there are warm words; at worst, there is complicity. They are happier to be pictured with a beaming smile alongside a despotic US President who is hellbent on facilitating continuing genocide than to take action to save the people of Gaza or to acknowledge the historical injustices that the UK finds itself guilty of in the current situation.
Internationally, we see the same inaction and the same complicity. The latest UN Security Council resolution appeared to offer a glimmer of hope as members came together to call for the actions that are set out in today’s motion, only for it to be vetoed by one party—the United States.
However, rather than give the UK and others cover, we urgently need to seek other international mechanisms and instruments in the face of continual Security Council impasses. The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has asked the UN General Assembly to authorise peacekeepers to accompany humanitarian convoys. That is indeed possible and achievable. A statute dictates that, where the Security Council is paralysed by a veto, the General Assembly can—and, indeed, must—step in. A majority vote among its 193 members could authorise peacekeepers. Let us be clear that such a vote would pass. Therefore, I ask the cabinet secretary to support such a move and to urge the UK Government to bring forward such a resolution.
More glimmers of hope seemed to be on the horizon when we were told that the UK and France were on the brink of recognising a Palestinian state. A Franco-Saudi summit was planned. Ordinary Israelis have been calling for peace—I have Israeli friends who are calling for peace. Israeli Opposition leaders have called for a ceasefire and for elections to take place so that a new decision can be made.
How did Netanyahu’s regime respond? It launched a unilateral strike against Iran, risking regional war and the lives of its own citizens—all to distract from corruption charges and domestic political failure. That is why I call on not only Governments but the people of Israel—good, decent people who want peace—to speak out, because their lives, too, are being gambled away in the name of fear, hate and political preservation.
We must all do our part to speak out and to take concrete actions. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has been outspoken in its condemnation of the genocide that is taking place in Gaza and that it has been outspoken on the need to adhere to international law. I welcome its support for a Palestinian state. I welcome its announced review of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks when awarding funding. However, I note the concerns of Amnesty International and Oxfam that the review lacks the necessary transparency and their calls for an independent review, which would promote transparency and trust in the process. I would welcome the Government’s thoughts on that in its response to this evening’s debate.
Although I appreciate that our powers here are limited, our voice is not. We must ensure that we use what powers we have and that the voice that we raise is heard loud and clear, for it is not only through action but through moral leadership and partnership—although we must have action along with those—that we can hope to bring an end to the suffering.
There can be peace in the middle east, but only if the world, including this Parliament, chooses to stand up and demand it—and demand it we do.
Thank you, Mr Kidd. We move to the open debate.
18:32
I thank Bill Kidd for bringing this debate to the chamber.
Presiding Officer, I will not stand here and give you some polished parliamentary line. I rarely do—I tend to speak from the heart and tell you how I feel. This is not about grandstanding on this issue; it is about doing what is right.
What is happening in Gaza just now is a humanitarian disaster and we cannot just turn away from it. Since last October, as Bill Kidd has already said, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed—and I say “killed”, because the vast majority are civilians. Tens of thousands of them are women and children. Just think about that for a second: mums, babies and toddlers gone and whole families wiped out, and still, every single day, people die.
In 2025 alone, on average,10 children have been killed every single day. Just this past week, 40 more people were shot dead at distribution sites for aid—again, many of them were women and children. That is not accidental, and it is not collateral. It is collective punishment and it has to stop. This genocide has to stop.
Back home in Paisley, we have seen the strength of our community as it comes together, and I have been proud to speak at just about every single Paisley for Palestine demonstration. People from all walks of life have come together—families, faith groups, young people—to stand for humanity, for justice and for peace. Let me say this loud and clear: these are not fringe voices. These are not the usual suspects—the individuals who turn up at the various campaigns that we all turn up at. These are the values of the people I represent in Paisley, and these are the values of the people we represent in our communities—and they are saying that we should all be saying, “Enough is enough.”
We need a full and immediate ceasefire, we need all hostages to be released safely and we need humanitarian aid—food, water, fuel and medicine—to be allowed in without delay, without conditions and without political gains. Let us not kid ourselves that this will just fix itself. There is no future and no peace without justice, and that justice means recognising the right of the Palestinian people to live in safety, with dignity and with self-determination. It means recognising a sovereign Palestinian state not as some token gesture but as a foundation for lasting peace.
I am standing here today because I have seen pain. I have heard from my constituents and I know what they expect from this Parliament. They want us to care and to act. They want us to speak up, not just in sympathy for but in solidarity with those who are suffering in Gaza.
We cannot regain the lives that have been lost, but we can stand up now and make sure that we do everything in our power to stop any more being taken.
Let us be on the right side of history, let us be human and let us be bold. We must provide support and stop the suffering of those in Gaza. This cannot be allowed to continue.
18:35
I do not doubt the passion and the sincerity with which Bill Kidd has spoken today. I read his motion very carefully. Some motions that we have debated in the chamber about Palestine have gone further than Bill Kidd’s; however, I felt that there was a lack of balance in it, and I will use my time to look at the situation without diminishing in any way the atrocities that we have seen in Gaza and the impact that they are having on a daily basis.
We must also acknowledge what happened on 7 October—the terrorist attack that saw women raped, mutilated and murdered and countless people across Israel killed, with many still held hostage. Their families across the world are waiting for news, but they are not hearing a single thing. Outside our Parliament, on almost a weekly basis—and, I know, in Glasgow on a weekly basis—we see people, including families, worried about their loved ones in Israel whom they have not heard from since 7 October. We cannot allow that to be forgotten.
Although the motion echoes the UN concerns about addressing the broader context, it fails to mention the terrorist attack by Hamas. It seems to call for an oversimplification of the issues that we have in front of us. Some of the atrocities on 7 October were filmed on dashcams and mobile phones by the terrorists themselves. There might be disagreements in the chamber, but I implore MSPs to watch a 47-minute film of footage that was pieced together, to properly understand the sheer evil that was witnessed by many on 7 October.
Humanitarian aid has been mentioned quite a lot during the debate, and it is part of the motion that we are debating. However, we know that there are issues with Hamas continuing to misappropriate humanitarian aid supplies, using aid as a vital tool to preserve its own influence and control over Gazans. The new model of aid distribution that has been introduced with the support of the US, which involves the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation providing aid directly to Gazan families, is to ensure that that aid reaches the civilians who need it and is not repurposed for violence.
The international community has been clear that Hamas should play no future role—
Will the member take an intervention?
I will in one moment, Mr Greer.
The international community has been clear that Hamas should play no future role in the civilian administration of Gaza. Unless its control of the aid supply chain is broken, Hamas will continue to exert influence over Gazan streets and perpetuate the cycle of violence and suffering that we all continue to witness.
I absolutely agree that aid should not be used for violence. Will the member acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that, as Bill Kidd mentioned, Israeli soldiers are systematically executing starving Palestinians who are queuing for aid? Will he join us in condemning that?
I would never in any way—no one would—endorse executions of women and children who are waiting to get aid. No one is going to defend that—I am not going to defend it. I think that Ross Greer also acknowledges that Hamas, a recognised terror group, is using humanitarian aid for its own means, by preventing it from getting to those who need it and by using it to redouble its efforts to rearm.
I know that we are short of time, but I need to say that an immediate ceasefire such as is called for—one that does not ensure the release of all the remaining hostages—cannot be supported. Historically, ceasefires have been exploited by Hamas to rearm and regroup, as has been seen in the violations of past agreements during the 2014 and 2021 conflicts. We must take that on board.
I reiterate that what we are seeing in Gaza is appalling. We all want to see it stop. What we saw in Israel on 7 October was appalling, too, and the fact that people are still being kept hostage and away from their families as a bargaining chip is something that no one can support. We must have a balanced resolution that condemns terrorism, supports Israel’s right to self-defence and promotes direct negotiations with a two-state solution.
I will finish with a quote:
“The path to peace lies not in one-sided declarations but in fostering dialogue, accountability and mutual security. Let us work towards a resolution that brings hope to both Palestinians and Israelis.”
18:40
I thank Bill Kidd for giving Parliament an opportunity to discuss the horrific and enduring suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are victims of an 18-year blockade.
Life in Gaza has become hopeless. People—trapped and living mostly in tents, with some sleeping on the bare roads—are now dying the most horrible deaths while the world is watching live, in real time, and is literally doing nothing to stop what is happening.
We have had 20 months of that. Israel’s war on the Palestinian people has become a well-planned operation to clear the land and to ethnically cleanse Gaza and the West Bank of their people. It is like nothing that we have witnessed in our lifetime. At least 56,000 people are dead, with the actual total probably much higher, and yet the hostages are still in danger because of that strategy. This is not self-defence. I, and most members in the chamber, have condemned the atrocities of 7 October, but, 20 months on, nothing—nothing—can justify what has happened to the Palestinians in Gaza.
Rafah, with its population of 275,000, has gone; Jabalia had 56,000 residents—now all gone; and Beit Lahiya had a population of 108,000. They are now in ruins. Israel stands out as being amongst the most extreme war cases in modern history right now. Nonetheless, there have been many brave people—too many to mention—who have been witnesses to this genocide, risking their own lives to save other people.
Dr Victoria Rose served for more than months in Gaza. She talks of a three-month blockade of food—for three months, Israel deliberately blocked food from going into the Gaza strip. She talks of the children whose muscles are wasting, with a loss of fat and a lack of essential nutrients. They are not healing, and they have infections as a result of their poor immune systems. There has been no medical aid since 2 March. Hospitals have run out of 47 per cent of all drugs, and the antibiotics that they have are not the ones that they need.
Why are no journalists allowed into Gaza to report any of that? Of the ones who have been reporting, 200 are already dead, and we are losing count. Who has not cried at these scenes? Gaza is completely on fire—it is flattened, and its children are under the rubble, with no adequate equipment to rescue them. It is unforgivable, but crying does nothing to stop it.
My dear friends Ahmed Al-Nasar and Dr Khamis Elessi message me most days from Gaza. They say that the fire and the bombs are relentless every hour of every day. They cannot sleep, and they all know that, one time, it is going to be them. Nasser hospital has been forced to transport wounded people on public transport. If we want to imagine the unimaginable, we are seeing it in Gaza right now. The speed and the scale of the bombs make them the most powerful weaponry in the world, and they are being used against the poorest women and children.
This is about not just the actions of one Government, but the actions of all the European Governments and what they are not doing to stop the genocide. The Labour Government has suspended 30 arms export licences; that is an important move, but we need to go further. Indeed, I do not believe that we should be supplying any weapons or parts for F-35 planes.
We should stand up and be counted—we should be trying to stop the slaughter. The future of the region depends on it. If we believe in peace in the region, we have to stop what is happening in Gaza. We have to realise that the morality of the west depends on it. We cannot say that we are a nation of people who believe in morality if we are not prepared to do something to stop what is happening in Gaza.
As Bill Kidd was saying, there is death by starvation. On 16 June, nearly 200 people were killed at a Gaza aid centre when an Israeli tank opened fire—it was witnessed and documented. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that its field hospital in Gaza had received 200 patients, marking the highest number that the hospital had received. Before the aid distribution centres were set up, people were at least being fed. However, since they have been set up, people are not being fed, and children who go to get a bag of flour to feed their families are risking their lives.
The deliberate starvation of a population is a war crime, but to kill them while they are risking their lives to get food aid goes beyond even that. Words are not enough—only actions count here. There are clear breaches of international law on several counts. Israel, as the occupier, has an obligation to the people that it is responsible for, but it has not taken those responsibilities seriously.
The world can clearly see that this is a bid to destroy an entire people, and anyone who does not see that is not watching closely enough. We need to ask ourselves this: what platform are we using to stop it? Ordinary Israelis and significant Israeli figures know that the future of Israel actually depends on stopping Netanyahu from doing this. They believe in their country, and they believe that it is time to join forces with everybody else in the world who wants to stop it.
We, as politicians, must stand up and be counted, because we will be asked by our children and our grandchildren, when they see the horrors that have happened in the past 20 months, “What did you do to stop the genocide? What did you do to promote peace in the region of the middle east?” I, for one, have always said that I want peace for Israelis and security for Israel, but I want a sovereign, independent Palestinian state, too. I demand justice for the Palestinians.
18:47
I thank Bill Kidd for securing this debate.
Collective punishment is a war crime under international humanitarian law, and it is specifically prohibited by the Geneva conventions. Yet, collective punishment is exactly what the blockade of Gaza, imposed by the apartheid, genocidal Israeli state, is inflicting on Palestinians. Using the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war goes against international law and the customs of war. The humanitarian crisis that we see in Gaza is a direct consequence of that collective punishment.
Alongside that are Israel’s actions to destroy all the infrastructure of society and culture, flattening schools, homes, hospitals and universities. Those acts of aggression are clearly designed to cause as much human suffering as possible and to make it is as difficult as possible to resist the blockade and to rebuild, restore and live.
If we, in this Parliament, find the actions of Putin in Ukraine to be so unpalatable—and we rightly,do—then we should find the actions of Netanyahu and his regime to be just as abhorrent. The International Criminal Court has had an arrest warrant out for Netanyahu since November 2024. We should take a similarly robust stance as we do with Putin. We should also be doing whatever we can to ensure that Netanyahu and the others who are responsible for these atrocities are held to account, that the blockade is lifted and that unhindered humanitarian access across Gaza is supported and encouraged.
However, this is not just about the ICC and legal routes to justice, or getting into Gaza the food, water, medical supplies, fuel, clothes and so much more that we all take for granted every day. We must also consider the role that we, in Scotland and the UK, are and could be playing in this on-going genocide.
We hear of the heroic attempts to get aid into or people out of Gaza and the West Bank, and we commend those who are committed to humanitarian and peace work. What we do not hear much about or see any accountability for are the actions of our state institutions that serve to pour fuel on the fire of this war. The UK’s military forces are currently training Israeli Defence Force personnel. More than 55,000 Palestinians have already been murdered, the majority of whom were women, children and the elderly, and yet we are training the very army that is carrying out such atrocities.
As if that was not bad enough, UK taxpayers’ money—our money—is being used to subsidise weapons companies that manufacture arms and components that are being used to destroy infrastructure and life in Gaza and, it seems, also in Iran, with Israel escalating instability across the region at the weekend.
We can no longer say that our Governments are not complicit in a situation that is
“worse than hell on earth”
according to the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We have to call it what it is—genocide and ethnic cleansing—and act accordingly. We should be doing everything that we can to stop the UK’s complicity.
We want to see recognition of the state of Palestine, as is seen in a growing number of countries around the world. The Greens also believe that we must see support for and action towards boycott, divestment and sanctions. We should not be normalising genocidal states. We should not be celebrating their inclusion in sporting or cultural activities. We should instead be using every ounce of our economic, social and political power to isolate the genocidal Israeli state and secure a very different future for Palestine and the wider middle east.
The crisis in Gaza is not inevitable. War is not inevitable. Both are a consequence of political failure, and our Governments are complicit in that failure. The Palestinian people deserve better.
18:51
I, too, pay tribute to Bill Kidd for his commitment to this issue and thank him for providing the opportunity for a debate. However inadequate words might feel in light of the horrific events that we are debating this evening, the debate is an important one.
Since the barbaric attacks and terror that were inflicted on innocent Israeli citizens by Hamas on 7 October 2023, the situation in Gaza has lurched from one indescribable horror to another. Israel’s blockade of aid into Gaza, which began more than 100 days ago and which is yet to be properly lifted, is, however, causing truly unconscionable levels of suffering. Men, women and children are being slowly starved while Israel’s military offensive continues.
In that context, debates and votes in this or, indeed, the UK Parliament will not trigger the action that is required to end the humanitarian atrocities that we are seeing unfold. Yet, we need to be clear in our condemnation, clear in our determination to use what levers we have to exert pressure, and clear about the fact that there is no military route to resolving this long-standing and bloody conflict and to achieving a lasting peace for Palestinians as well as for Israelis, only a diplomatic one.
Those are insufficient but nonetheless important signals that we can and must continue to send to the Netanyahu regime. That regime seems increasingly out of control, impervious to the pleas of allies, unfettered by international law and hell bent on escalation, driven by the most extreme elements in that Government.
Of course, we must continue to condemn the 7 October attacks, but we must also continue to condemn the violence and inhumanity unleashed on innocent Gazans at the cost of more than 55,000 lives and the devastation of hundreds of thousands more. The UN has made it clear that the entire population of Gaza is at critical risk of famine while the blockade continues. Meanwhile, Palestinians are being killed as they attempt to collect food. The UN is right to say that
“Hunger must never be met with bullets.”
Targeting aid distribution centres and humanitarian workers not only deprives Gazans of access to the basic means of survival; it is undeniably inhumane.
As media and political attention, inevitably perhaps, turns to the blows Israel and Iran rain down on each other, what is happening in Gaza cannot be allowed to fade from public view or consciousness in the face of famine and what many argue is genocide. In response, Liberal Democrats believe that the export of arms to Israel must be halted, the state of Palestine must be recognised and sanctions should be applied more rigorously. Amnesty International points to the role that the Scottish Government can play. Scottish Enterprise funding, for example, must be subject to robust human rights checks, with no links to the on-going conflict in Gaza.
It is often too easy to be numbed to the human aspect amid the headlines of this war, but, as it rages on, the children of Gaza are dying in their thousands, homes are being destroyed and families are being torn apart. As a nation, we must remain resolute in our commitment to support and facilitate efforts to bring an end to this grotesque suffering. Anything less would be to accept our own complicity.
18:55
I thank Bill Kidd for bringing this important issue to the chamber.
Presiding Officer,
“Every day, we lose more ways to survive ... We’re not asking for proper housing or clothes or even meat. All we want is a loaf of bread to stop the children’s crying. Is that too much to ask?”
Those are the words of a mother in Gaza, reflecting on the birth of her son during a period of profound violence and instability. In his short life, he has known only conflict. Like countless others in Gaza, he is now enduring the devastating consequences of war, malnutrition, uncertainty and a daily struggle for survival.
Conditions in Gaza have been intolerable for months. Following the Israeli forces’ official blockade of the Gaza Strip and months more of drip-feeding aid to a population in desperate need, according to the World Food Programme, 470,000 people in Gaza—22 per cent of the population—face catastrophic hunger and 100 per cent of the territory is at risk of famine.
That is taking place while the threat of bombs looms over. We are now seeing the deeply concerning use of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been criticised by its former leader, who resigned rather than support its strategy, the United Nations agency and the humanitarian aid community for “weaponising aid” and going against the core principles of humanitarian support, including placing conditions on aid. The consequences of that have been deadly, with desperate Gazans shot and killed while attempting to access life-saving aid.
The UN says that 9,000 trucks-worth of aid are waiting to enter Gaza. Every one of those must be let in to avoid further humanitarian disaster. That is not just the right thing to do; it is Israel’s responsibility under international law and as part of the resolution that the International Court of Justice has issued. A ceasefire agreement is now, more than ever, a moral duty as a start to ending this horrific human suffering. The UK Government, as well as Governments worldwide, can increase the pressure to make that happen.
We have seen military strikes by Israel in Syria, in Lebanon and now in Iran. Debates like today’s are important in allowing us to put on the record and say, “Not in my name.” We can stand today and say that the UK and Scotland should be partners for peace in conflict, but we cannot be partners for peace while selling weapons where there is risk of war crimes. We cannot be partners for peace if we allow states to break international law without consequences. We cannot be partners for peace if we do not recognise the existence of a Palestinian state.
18:59
I congratulate Bill Kidd on securing the debate. I lodged a similar motion calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state, so I am very pleased that Bill Kidd’s motion has been selected and that we are debating the issue today. I very much hope that this Parliament is given the opportunity to vote to call for recognition of the Palestinian state, although that is obviously not possible in this members’ business debate.
As a Labour MP, I voted in favour of recognising the Palestinian state in 2014, when the House of Commons voted for recognition in a non-binding vote. I suspect that the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture may well have been with me in those lobbies. The UK Government should publicly call for the full recognition of Palestine, although I appreciate the point made by Liam McArthur that such actions will not be sufficient in themselves.
Like many members across the chamber, on an almost daily basis I receive emails from constituents expressing horror at the Israeli Government’s treatment of civilians in Palestine. Since 7 October 2023, Israel has carried out indiscriminate attacks on Gaza, with displacement of Palestinians from their homes through land grabs and demolition, and with the horror of the scenes of carnage, mutilation and death that we see so often on our television screens.
Pauline McNeill and Bill Kidd said that at least 56,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military offensives, and some estimates are considerably higher. More than 14,000 people are said to be missing or presumed dead. It has now been over 15 weeks since Israel imposed a complete blockade on vital aid and supplies, which amounts to collective punishment and the use of starvation as a method of war against the population of Gaza. The World Health Organization has warned of the permanent impact of hunger on a generation of people in Gaza.
Israel’s co-ordinated attacks on and near hospitals have pushed Gaza’s healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, and we are far beyond the early days, when there was denial that hospitals were being targeted. Israel’s aggression on Gaza, in direct violation of international law and the International Court of Justice, has left many Palestinians in Gaza who have families across the world stranded without any safe or viable path to reunite with their loved ones, perpetuating the cycle of trauma faced by those individuals. Pathways to family reunification with relatives in the UK, for example, involve restrictive criteria, prolonged waits and hefty fees. That is the kind of issue that Britain could do more on. As of 24 March 2024, two Palestinians had died while waiting for the Home Office to decide on their applications.
I would therefore like to use this debate to highlight the calls of the Gaza families reunited campaign for the immediate implementation of a Gaza family scheme to enable Palestinians to reunite with their loved ones in the UK. Provisions under the scheme would involve deferring biometric enrolment until family members arrive in the UK and would require the Foreign Office to provide consular assistance to people accessing help. Importantly, that would not negate the Palestinians’ right to return but would uphold it by seeking to protect the lives of those in need now.
I am pleased to support the motion and the call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all unjustly detained people, the unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the recognition of the Palestinian state. I also support the call that both the UK and Scottish Governments must divest from funding any organisation that enables the sale of weapons to Israel and that all arms exports to Israel must cease. That is very much in the interests of the people of both Israel and Palestine.
17:04
I respect Bill Kidd’s sincerity in lodging the motion, as I respect all those who have spoken so far, and I begin by deploring the suffering of innocent people—Palestinians and Israelis alike. The images from Gaza are harrowing. The loss of innocent life, the displacement of families and the deep trauma inflicted on civilians are tragedies that weigh heavily on us all. No one could be indifferent to such human suffering.
However, let me be absolutely clear: I support the right of the state of Israel to defend itself against terrorism. Douglas Ross was right to highlight the atrocities on 7 October. I hope that I am not alone in resolutely opposing Hamas—a violent proscribed terrorist organisation whose actions have inflicted unimaginable suffering on both Israelis and Palestinians. The Parliament cannot ignore the reality that Hamas is not a partner for peace but a death cult, funded by Iran, that is committed to the total destruction of Israel and is utterly indifferent to the suffering of the very people it claims to represent.
I share concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That is why I have asked questions about the nearly £1.5 million of Scottish Government aid that has been committed to Gaza over the past 18 months. As the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee discovered, that aid was intended to be delivered in the form of cash and vouchers to those in need on the ground, but I have raised grave concerns that that well-meaning and well-intentioned support risks being hijacked by Hamas in order to sustain its control and prolong the suffering of civilians.
Stephen Kerr said that Israel has a right to defend itself. How does he feel about the deliberate starvation of the Palestinian population in Gaza? In my speech, I said that there is evidence from eye witnesses that Israel has shot at people who have been queuing up for aid, and it is common knowledge, as reported in the Haaretz newspaper, that Israel has paid armed gangs to cause chaos at so-called humanitarian food distribution centres. Surely he is not justifying that.
I do not justify any action that causes civilians to suffer, but Pauline McNeill was very wise to couch her description of those events in relation to reports. This war is being fought not only through violence but through propaganda, and there is an abundance of evidence of that propaganda and of how potent it is. We all long for peace, but peace demands clarity and honesty.
Does Stephen Kerr call for international journalists to be allowed into Palestine, as some of us do, so that we can get accurate reporting of what is happening?
As Carol Mochan will appreciate, the situation on the ground in Gaza is very complex. We would all like to see some honest reporting of what is transpiring.
As I was saying, calls for a ceasefire must be accompanied by calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages who are still held by Hamas. A two-state solution must be grounded in mutual recognition. I hope that members appreciate and accept that Hamas fundamentally rejects recognition of the state of Israel. I do not believe that there can be equivalence between a democratic state acting in self-defence and a terrorist organisation using civilians as shields. That is not nuance; it is moral clarity.
Let us also be clear about recognition of a Palestinian state. Statehood cannot be seen as a solution in the face of on-going violence; it must be the outcome of a genuine peace process that begins with the rejection of terror and the embracing of co-existence. Until such time as Hamas is disarmed and dismantled, and until the Palestinian leadership is willing to live in peace alongside Israel, it appears that lasting peace in the middle east will, I am sorry to say, remain tragically out of reach.
Before I call the next speaker, I advise members that, given the number of colleagues who still wish to speak in the debate, I am minded to accept a motion without notice, under rule 8.14.3, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Bill Kidd to move the motion.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[Bill Kidd]
Motion agreed to.
19:10
In Shuhada Street, in al-Khalil, the occupation has segregated Palestinians from illegal settlements for two decades. What was once a central thoroughfare, a hive of commercial activity and the Barras of the city is now described as a ghost town. Military checkpoints deny Palestinian residents free movement in their home city. Children queue in metal cages to reach their destinations—school, the grocery store or simply home. Those are ordinary, peaceful activities. That is why, every year since 2010, youth against settlements has campaigned to open Shuhada Street, end the closures in the city and end the military occupation of Palestine.
Shuhada Street is but one example of the indignity that Palestinians face every day. For more than 100 years, a war has been waged on the Palestinian people not because of religion, politics or self-defence, but because of land. In the pursuit of a land without a people for a people without a land, there was just one problem: the land had and has a people—the Palestinians. What we are witnessing in Gaza—the catastrophic humanitarian situation, the deliberate withholding of food by Israel, the half a million people in acute malnutrition, and one of the world’s worst hunger crises unfolding in real time—is, in short, genocide against Palestinians. It is not accidental. It is not “collateral damage”. It is by design.
We know that because that is what the Israeli Government told us. Yoav Gallant, then Minister of Defence, said on 9 October 2023:
“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for his arrest. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, said on 17 November 2023:
“It is necessary to make cultural changes in Gaza, such as in Japan and Germany following World War 2.”
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for his arrest. Their words are incitement to genocide. Their actions are ethnic cleansing. Let us be clear: Gallant and Netanyahu are not lone operators. The Likud party, which they represent, is a right-wing nationalist party founded by members of terrorist organisations that expressly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state. And the actions of those men and of the Israeli Government, as grave as they are, are not at all surprising. What is surprising is the blind eye that has been turned by so much of the international community. That must not be allowed to continue.
The UK Government must immediately suspend all UK arms exports to Israel, and the Scottish Government must ensure that no public money is awarded to companies that are manufacturing and supplying arms or their components to Israel. Whether our Governments act will come down to the people, as it always does. Through the votes that we cast, through the voices that we raise and through the choices that we make, together we can turn the tide.
19:14
I thank Bill Kidd not just for lodging the motion but for his lifelong commitment to peace and justice. The Scottish Parliament will sorely miss his voice as of next May.
I want to ask Israel’s defenders how they can sleep at night. I also want to ask that question of the people who, two years ago, condemned those of us who pointed out that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza. Where are those voices now, when every single hospital in Gaza has been almost completely destroyed and hundreds—if not thousands—of doctors, nurses and other hospital staff have been murdered by Israeli forces? Where are those who denied that Israel would ever target Palestinian children now that we have the testimonials of surgeon after surgeon saying that all they do all day is operate on children? Those children are five, six or seven years old and have single gunshot wounds to the head—in other words, wounds caused by execution shots by Israeli soldiers. Where are those who denied that Israel would ever massacre paramedics now that a mass grave has been found of 15 Palestinian paramedics, who were buried with their ambulances in an attempt to cover up that crime? Of course, when Israel was caught, it described that massacre as a professional error—and by the way, it murdered the 12-year-old boy who witnessed it.
I can think of no other word than “twisted” to condemn the Israelis who point to the Iranian air strikes on civilian infrastructure in Israel and say, “We could never possibly do that—that is the difference between democratic Israel and tyrannical Iran.” How can those Israelis say that after two years of systematic slaughter of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank? How can they say that after 80 years of occupation and the systematic murder of Palestinian civilians with impunity and without consequence? Some of—not all—Israel’s air strikes in Iran were, indeed, highly targeted at military officials. However, all that does is prove the point that the mass slaughter of Palestinians is a choice—it is not collateral damage; Israel is choosing to deliberately kill tens of thousands of Palestinians.
I cannot wait for the Iranian people to overthrow their regime and live in freedom, but let us compare Iran with Israel. Iran has no nuclear weapons and, according to American estimates, is at least three years away from developing one. Iran allows international observers into their nuclear facilities to verify that that is the case, and it agreed to a treaty preventing it from developing nuclear weapons. In comparison, Israel has nuclear weapons, which it developed in partnership with apartheid South Africa. Israel denies that it has those weapons, but it will not allow international observers in to verify that.
Day after day, we see more starving people desperately lining up and being herded into cages for something to eat, and then being shot—executed—at aid points.
Britain is complicit in this. Throughout the slaughter, Britain has never stopped arms sales to Israel. Britain has never stopped the Royal Air Force flights over Gaza and the passing of the intelligence gathered to the Israeli military. Britain has never stopped trading with Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank. Britain has only sanctioned two ministers in the Israeli Government—not the Prime Minister, the defence minister, the President, the foreign secretary or a single military official. We now have the news that the British military is training the murderers that are the Israeli occupation force.
I am always deeply reluctant to use the word “holocaust”. I never want to diminish the unique evil of the Holocaust, but what can we call this other than a holocaust of the Palestinian people? Every year, with unanimity, we remember the victims of genocide. We say, “Never forget,” and “Never again.” However, so many of those who say that with us are now passive or even active supporters of this genocide. If you have ever asked yourself what you would have done then to prevent history’s worst atrocities, it is whatever you are doing now.
What the UK can do is end all arms sales to Israel; end intelligence sharing with the Israeli military; expel—or, better yet, arrest, rather than train—the Israeli occupation force personnel who are here; and recognise the state of Palestine.
The Scottish Government can stop giving public money to Israel’s arms dealers and can ban the companies that have been identified by the United Nations as complicit in the occupation from receiving a penny in grants or contracts in Scotland. It can call for a boycott of trade with Israel in the same way that it called for a boycott of trade with Russia. The International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001 can be used to prosecute Israeli soldiers who return here—members should be in no doubt that some of those who are committing these crimes in Palestine are from the UK.
Peace is not just an end to violence—it is the presence of justice. I pray that the perpetrators of this genocide face justice. Right now, what I pray for more than anything else is that my Palestinian friends will simply be allowed to live.
19:20
I thank Bill Kidd for bringing the debate to the chamber and for all his work on establishing peace over the years that he has been in the Parliament and beyond. I know that he will continue to do that.
We need more serious discussion of our country’s role in these conflicts and how we can alter our actions to limit the likelihood of war. The chamber should take time to consider more issues of such importance, and I am glad that we are doing so tonight.
I join other members in calling again for the immediate release of all hostages, the return of remains to families and the unconditional lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid going into Gaza. Those are the first steps towards a lasting resolution. People cannot negotiate peace with the threat of violence hanging over them. Let me be absolutely clear: our country should not be selling weapons and associated technology to anyone who is using it indiscriminately to strike civilian targets.
The death toll in this conflict has been utterly intolerable. It is clear to anyone who is approaching it from a moral position that what is occurring in Gaza is an attempt to commit genocide. That is clear for all to see. Some of the attempts to make it seem like a normal war between two adversaries have been perplexing. This is not a war of equals.
For well over a year, we have seen unimaginable slaughter and targeted starvation of the people living in Gaza. That is a fact. On top of that, any sense of human rights and decency has been thrown out of the window. Journalists, aid workers and, as we have heard, medical staff have been murdered simply for trying to help those in great need or to tell the truth.
The world’s response has been impotent and truly depressing. I feel very naive for having assumed that we would never see such scenes again in my lifetime. It is dreadful to realise that it has simply been allowed to happen. I feel great shame that, in the UK, we are not doing all that we can to stop it.
All that I can do is continue to stand up and be counted with the millions who are saying that we must have peace. It is what my constituents want, it is what decent human beings across the world want and it is the right thing to do. I echo the motion’s call for an immediate ceasefire, and not only in Palestine. There must be an end to the needless conflict between Iran and Israel, which was started so aggressively by the Israeli Government just last week. We must call for it to stop.
We have been down this road before when claiming the right to strike countries based on unconfirmed reports that they might develop a weapon of mass destruction. I had hoped that we had learned the lessons from Iraq and the dreadful repercussions that that conflict brought to people across the world.
There is no need for any more death and destruction. Let us use any influence that we have to secure peace and speak with one voice as a Parliament and as the nation of Scotland. Let us call for peace and for no more death and destruction.
19:23
I, too, am grateful to Bill Kidd for lodging this vital motion and for giving the Scottish Parliament the opportunity to debate the on-going crisis in Gaza. I recognise that my colleagues, Katy Clark and Pauline McNeill, also lodged motions on the subject in recent weeks.
There are no words that do justice to this humanitarian catastrophe. We have to follow the evidence and the reality. I thank colleagues who have highlighted the fact that journalists cannot get into Gaza to report in the way that Stephen Kerr and other members clearly want to see. We know that many journalists have been killed, alongside many medics, doctors and others on the front line.
Like others, I thank constituents who have been in touch with me through my inbox or by speaking to me at events and surgeries. It was good to hear from George Adam about the lively efforts in Paisley to support the Palestinians. At the end of the day, all we can do is show love and empathy and that people care. I thank all my constituents who have written to me to urge an immediate ceasefire, the safe release of all hostages and the immediate and unconditional lifting of restrictions in Gaza on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid.
I was thinking back to an event in 2022 that was hosted in the Parliament and organised by Jackie Baillie. Some guests from Medical Aid for Palestinians were hosting medics from Gaza; other guests included some of our doctors and other clinicians from Scotland who had been working with teams out there to build capacity. I was so impressed by what I heard at that event.
I also heard about MAP’s work to support cross-party visits to Palestine and I was interested in perhaps going on one of those trips. A few years later, it is unthinkable that any of us will set foot in Gaza in the near future. I know that Pauline McNeill has spent time in Gaza and in the region, but what is going to be left?
We try very hard not to dehumanise people in debates on such conflicts, but the numbers are absolutely unbelievable. It is heartbreaking that, today, there are still 58 hostages who have been held for more than 600 days and remain in cruel captivity. At the same time, the lives of more than 55,000 Palestinians have ended, and more than 127,000 have been injured—and those numbers continue to rise. When will enough be enough?
If we believe in international law and international justice, we all have to do more. Debates such as this one can help to push the issue up the agendas of the Scottish Government and the UK Government. I agree with all my colleagues who have said that the UK has to do more. This cannot be allowed to happen in our name. Every day when I go home, my 18-year-old daughter speaks about Gaza. We have a generation of young people in this country who are in utter disbelief. We have to do more. That includes tracking what is going on in relation to Scottish Enterprise and making sure that no taxpayer pounds go towards funding the war.
What we are seeing in Gaza is genocide, but we are also witnessing an ecocide. Satellite imagery from Kent State University showed that nearly all Gaza’s crops, tree cover and grasslands have been damaged. Three weeks ago, UN satellite imagery showed that less than 5 per cent of Gaza’s crop land remains available for cultivation, further exacerbating the risk of famine.
I echo colleagues’ remarks: we need justice for the Palestinians. Both the people of Israel and the people of Palestine deserve a better future. They are not getting that from their current leaders. The world needs to act—we need to act now.
19:28
I thank Bill Kidd for securing this important debate, and I pay genuine tribute to all the members, across the parties, who have spoken so powerfully. Only last week, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said:
“Attacks on civilians in Gaza—including the killing and injury of hungry people seeking food and those delivering aid—are unacceptable.”
A former UK ambassador to Lebanon and senior adviser to two UK Prime Ministers, Tom Fletcher understands intimately the responsibility of the international community towards the world’s most vulnerable citizens.
The Scottish Government condemns in the strongest terms the killings in Gaza of civilians who lost their lives while queuing for food and trying to get aid for their families. Gazans are faced with an impossible choice between risking death by starvation and risking death by gunfire. It is totally unacceptable and it has to stop.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment confirms that the entire population of Gaza faces high levels of acute food insecurity. Half a million people—one in five—face starvation, and children under five are at the highest risk.
The situation is entirely man made and was entirely preventable. Israel’s approach to delivering aid via private contractors has failed tragically. Israel’s plan to entrust the distribution of aid in Gaza to private contractors contravenes humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. The plan risks militarising aid and exacerbating inequalities. It is unconscionable that 2 million people are starving in the Gaza Strip while tonnes of food is being blocked at the border. Israel must now allow humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to conduct their life-saving work unimpeded and at scale.
The Scottish Government has been consistent and forthright in calling for an immediate and sustained ceasefire. Like any other country, Israel has a right to protect itself and its citizens from terror, and the Scottish Government has repeatedly and unreservedly condemned the brutality of Hamas on 7 October 2023 and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli and other hostages. However, in exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must abide by international humanitarian law. Israel’s military action has gone far beyond any legitimate response.
We have been consistent in calling for unimpeded access to Gaza for humanitarian aid, for Israel to comply with international court rulings and for accountability for those who are responsible for atrocities, wherever they occur. Scottish Government ministers have repeatedly called for an end to licensed arms exports to Israel. We do not believe that there is a case for sending more weapons to Israel. The UN Security Council has called for a ceasefire. Ministers have made it clear that, by continuing to arm Israel, the UK is in danger of being complicit in killing innocent civilians.
I welcome, and agree with, the points that the cabinet secretary has made, as other Scottish Labour members have done this evening, but will he provide an update on the Scottish Government’s efforts to review Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks? We are approaching the summer recess, and many of us still feel very uncertain and quite anxious about the situation in that regard. I would welcome an update on that.
I will be happy to update Monica Lennon, but I must tell her what really needs to happen. On 2 September 2024, the UK Government announced the suspension of 30 export licences for the export of arms to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza. That was welcome, but we have made it clear that the suspension should go much further and should cover all such licences. That would obviate the need for questions such as the one that Monica Lennon has just raised. However, I have given her an undertaking and I will reply to her in detail.
People in Gaza are being bombed and left to starve by Israel on a massive scale. Sadly, the rhetoric of some Israeli politicians is becoming increasingly extreme, and the trickle of aid that is being delivered by private contractors is inadequate and inhumane. The approach of bombing hospitals and targeting humanitarian workers is appalling and clearly incompatible with international humanitarian law, and it must cease immediately. The international community cannot allow the situation to continue. It must take decisive action now.
The Scottish Government has repeatedly called for the UK Government to officially recognise the state of Palestine, to break the political impasse that has condemned Israelis and Palestinians to successive cycles of violence. The First Minister called on the UK to review its position following the welcome decision last year by Ireland, Norway, Spain and Slovenia to recognise the state of Palestine. They have joined more than 140 other states in doing so. It is therefore regrettable, given the growing international consensus around recognition, that the UN conference on a two-state solution, which had been due to take place this week in New York under the co-chairmanship of France and Saudi Arabia, has been postponed.
Recognition would offer hope to Palestinians that a just and durable political solution is possible, and it would allow Israel and Gaza to move towards long-term peace and stability, which is in the interests of all. I made that position clear during a members’ business debate on 26 June last year, and I repeat that position today. Katy Clark was right to recall that we both voted for the recognition of Palestine in the House of Commons in 2014. Only a two-state solution will bring lasting peace and enable Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace and security.
I thank members for their measured and thoughtful contributions to the debate. We must amplify our voices in calling for immediate humanitarian support for the people of Gaza.
Today saw the UK national Srebrenica memorial day ceremony, which marked the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The ceremony took place in St Paul’s cathedral, in London, earlier today. Fifty years after the world said, “Never again,” to the horrors of the Holocaust, a genocide took place on European soil against Bosnian Muslims. Now, 30 years on from the murder of thousands of unarmed men, women and children in Srebrenica, we are again forced to ask ourselves what we will actively do. We must do all in our power to end the horror in Gaza—and, yes, that includes working to secure the release of all hostages. Doing nothing is not an option.
The Scottish Government will work with parliamentarians of all parties to support a ceasefire, to end the suffering of Gazans, to secure the release of the hostages and to secure a viable peace for both Palestine and the Israelis.
Meeting closed at 19:36.Air ais
Decision Time