Meeting of the Parliament 26 June 2024
I thank Humza Yousaf for his devotion to the Palestinians, and for choosing this subject for his first members’ business debate as a former First Minister; it means a lot. I also recognise the work that he has done with the Jewish community—as Jackson Carlaw highlighted—in these very difficult times.
I believe that, in international terms, the question of Palestine is the moral question of our time, and that where you stand on the injustice of the longest occupation in the world—76 years, in fact—matters. Millions of Israelis believe that too, as do many Jewish people around the world. I say that, if you have a platform to speak out, you must speak out, for the sake of all those—as Humza Yousaf said—who live in the middle east region, because it is the only way that we will get peace.
The Balfour declaration said, among other things, that the creation of the state of Israel should not undermine the rights of the Palestinian population. More than a hundred years on, however, we are no further forward on that.
As the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, said this week at the Unison conference, the right of Palestine to be an “independent sovereign state” is an inalienable and “long-overdue right” that is not in the gift of the neighbour, who is the occupier.
As Anas Sarwar has said many times, Palestine has a right to exist as a secure state in exactly the same way as Israel should have security and peace. That is the right approach. I agree with Humza Yousaf that the time to recognise Palestine is now. It is time to correct the historical injustices.
Although the focus is, rightly, on the massacre and decimation in Gaza right now, the failure to hold Israel to account for the violation of international law over 76 years and the pretence that there were serious attempts to reach a political solution must be understood. In talks during that time, the Palestinian representatives accepted having 22 per cent of former Palestine as the basis of the state. I question whether Israel will, on its own, without any pressure, come to the conclusion that there must be a Palestinian state. That is why I believe that the UK must suspend sending arms to Israel until such time as Israel complies with international law. Unless there is pressure of that type, I do not see how that will come about.
This week, Armenia joined 146 countries that recognise Palestine as an occupied state. That is an important addition to those nations that already recognise Palestine, because there is an Armenian quarter in Jerusalem, where there is extreme settler violence, and it is a risk for the Armenians to take that step. However, the addition of Armenia to those 146 countries is welcome.
As Humza Yousaf has said, the level of violence in the occupied territories is completely unprecedented. Although the world is, rightly, focused on what is happening in Gaza, we must draw attention to what is happening in the West Bank. During his speech at the United Nations in September 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu proudly presented a map showing all historical Palestine as Israel. However, Palestine exists and will not be ignored.
I make a plea for us not to make the mistake of characterising Benjamin Netanyahu as the problem. Previous Israeli Prime Ministers have failed to reach agreement with the Palestinians. The Palestinians have been repeatedly dehumanised, their rights have been taken away, they have been detained and their houses have been demolished. Why should they live a minute longer under Israeli rule?
Save the Children said that 20,000 children are
“lost, disappeared, detained, buried under the rubble or in mass graves”.
They have nowhere to run. Now, one in four children is starving to death, and 90 per cent are food insecure when they should be receiving aid. The Rafah crossing has now been burned, and their connection with the outside world is no longer there.
We must not relent from calling for an immediate ceasefire. We must continue to call for the return of the hostages who are still being held.
One day, Palestine will be free, and I think that this Parliament can say that, when the time was right, we stood up for Palestinians and for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and for peace for everyone who lives in the region.