Meeting of the Parliament 21 November 2023
On 7 October, the world was shocked by the news of a devastating terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, where more than 1,000 innocent civilians were killed. Many others were also taken hostage, and it is hard for any of us here to even begin to imagine the impact on those who were affected. Those abhorrent attacks have been condemned—rightly—by members from across the chamber and across Scottish society as a whole. The motion allows us to reiterate that condemnation in the strongest possible terms.
However, the Israeli reaction in the days that followed the attacks has unleashed a humanitarian crisis of shocking proportions on the innocent people of Gaza. The situation on the ground is startling. People along the Gaza strip are in desperate need of water, shelter, food and safety. The numbers of casualties are increasing, tragically, every single day. Even as we debate here today in the comfort of the chamber, the numbers are rising. Statistics reveal, as of just yesterday, that 17,144 people have been killed—7,208 of those being children—33,830 people have been injured, 1.7 million people have been displaced, 253 schools have been damaged and 124 health facilities, including hospitals, have been targeted.
This morning, I was sent the same video that Pauline McNeill referred to—a video of a surgeon in Gaza outside a tent who, it was reported, had to carry out an amputation on his own child without anaesthetic. His child subsequently died of the pain. It is horrendous. What more needs to happen? This is just appalling. How can we sit back and let this continue? The whole world should be ashamed. The innocent children and people of Gaza are paying the price for Hamas, and it cannot continue.
The World Health Organization has called Israel’s forced evacuation of northern Gaza
“a death sentence for the sick and injured”
in the area. The UN goes further in its language and, on its website, it has an article entitled, “Palestine: Preventing a Genocide in Gaza and a New ‘Nakba’”. That sort of language should make us all sit up and think about what history will tell us of the days that we are living through and how Governments, countries and individuals responded to them.
The collective punishment that is being imposed on innocent civilians can never be justified and will undeniably make any future peace process in the region more difficult. That is why there must be an immediate ceasefire. That should not be a complicated demand to make. As well as by the UN, a ceasefire is already backed by ActionAid, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Stop the War, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Doctors Without Borders and many other organisations.
This is human suffering in the extreme, and it is happening in front of us in 2023. We cannot simply do or say nothing. We must stand up for these people. We cannot stay silent when we have voices. I truly believe that there should be no politician anywhere who is not willing to call for and vote for a ceasefire. A ceasefire is the only way for the immediate safety of all people across the region and to allow for the hostages to be released and the much-needed humanitarian aid to reach civilians who have been so drastically affected by the conflict.
I therefore urge the Government of Israel to end the total siege of Gaza and to ensure unbound humanitarian access, including the delivery of sufficient amounts of medical supplies, food, fuel and water. I urge Hamas to begin the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages held captive. The delivery of aid and the release of hostages can only be achieved with the complete cessation of hostilities.
Of course, the situation is not new, with Holocaust survivor Dr Gabor Maté, for example, previously referring to Gaza as the “world’s largest outdoor prison”. The international community must now come together and find a two-state solution to bring lasting peace to the region.
Closer to home, it is great that the Scottish Government has pledged £750,000 to assist the relief efforts in Gaza via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s flash appeal, which I whole-heartedly welcome.
I say to any of my constituents in Coatbridge and Chryston who are also members of the Israeli or Palestinian communities that I affirm the right of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, and I always will. There is no place for antisemitism, Islamophobia or any kind of hatred here in Scotland. That message has been given consistently by our First Minister throughout the past few weeks. He has led from the front in calling for peace for all and an immediate ceasefire, often when he has been facing difficult personal circumstances. I am incredibly proud of his international leadership through this time. It is what other leaders across the UK should be aspiring to.
To any commentators who still think that we should not be debating this, I simply ask why this Parliament would not debate what may be the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time. Why would we not give our voices to those who are oppressed and suffering? This is not about taking sides in what is obviously a complex situation; it is about human rights and our basic humanity.
I will end by again quoting the words of Holocaust survivor—and I will try to pronounce his name better for the Official Report—Dr Gabor Maté, whom I mentioned earlier, who said, in a widely shared video on the situation in the middle east that many have probably already viewed:
“You don’t have to support Hamas policies to stand up for Palestinian rights, that’s a complete falsity ... So it’s not a question of being pro-Palestinian. It’s a question of, are you in favour of justice and liberty, and freedom and truth, or are you not?”
There must be an immediate ceasefire, and I hope that everyone here will vote for that this evening.
16:05