Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2025
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.
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