Hansard

We have all been absolutely horrified by the tragic scenes that we have been seeing on our television screens—the indiscriminate loss of innocent life; innocent young people murdered at a music festival; women and children being taken hostage; children being killed because of rocket fire; and babies dying because their incubators cannot run because of the lack of fuel and electricity. At times, it has felt as if humanity is dying before our very eyes. In these dark times, however, the hope for peace must not end.

Today, Scottish Labour will vote for an immediate ceasefire in the middle east because it is vital that we see a cessation of all violence. I believe that four things need to happen immediately. The first is the end of rocket fire into and out of Gaza. Let me be clear that that means a ceasefire right now.

Secondly, we need the immediate release of all hostages. Thirdly, we need immediate access for humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies. In my view, the withholding of such vital humanitarian aid is a clear breach of international law. Fourthly, we need a pathway to a peace process, because right now we have no peace and no process.

Those of us who continue to support and call for an immediate ceasefire must recognise the barriers that we must overcome. For a ceasefire to work, all sides must be willing to comply. We must also recognise that Hamas has made it clear that it intends to repeat the 7 October massacre and to continue rocket fire. Tragically, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has made it clear that he is not willing to even consider a ceasefire. That is why the full force of international diplomacy must be used to create the conditions to make an immediate ceasefire a reality.

It is really important for us to stress that Hamas is not the Palestinian people: it is a terrorist organisation. However, it is also important to stress that the Israeli people are not the right-wing Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is, I believe, a man who has no interest in peace.

That is why the political situation on the ground must change if we are to see the realisation of a two-state solution, with an end to illegal occupation, an end to illegal siege and an end to illegal settlements. That is why, throughout the violence that we have seen over the past six weeks, I have been unequivocal in my condemnation of the barbaric acts of terror by Hamas, and I have been unequivocal that there is no justification for the collective punishment of 2.2 million citizens in Gaza, that I believe that the Israeli Government is in breach of international law, and that peace is possible not with bullets and bombs, but only with a political process that leads to a two-state solution with an end to illegal occupation.

Our amendment calls on the International Criminal Court to investigate the actions of all sides in the conflict because we must stay true to a rules-based international system, and everyone’s actions must be judged to make sure that they are in proper accordance with international humanitarian law.

On the amendment in the name of Alex Cole-Hamilton, we accept the substance of the argument that, ultimately, there is no military solution to the conflict and that peace will come only through a political process.

I want to give some reflections on the situation in Gaza. Back in 2008, I had the very good fortune to visit the Gaza strip long before I was a member elected to the Scottish Parliament. I went on that visit with my good friend Pauline McNeill. I visited the Al-Shifa hospital, which has become such a focus of the conflict in the past few days. We went on a humanitarian mission to deliver a generator to keep the lights and incubators on in the hospital.

What I saw there, back in 2008, has stayed with me and shaped my thinking ever since. I stood around those incubators and saw the life-saving work that was being done, but I also saw incubators that could not work because essential maintenance supplies were not being allowed into Gaza by the Israeli authorities. I remember standing at those incubators and embracing Pauline McNeill as we both sobbed at what we were seeing. I saw the kidney dialysis machines that are now switched off because of the lack of electricity and fuel. That means that the life-saving services that they provide cannot happen.

Fifteen years on, the situation in Gaza has got worse, not better. That is a collective failure—a 15-year failure—of the international community and global leaders and, frankly, it shames the entire world.

When I was in Gaza in 2008, half of the population were able to eat only because of United Nations food programmes. That situation is worse now. A third of the population were unemployed. That is worse now. A third of the essential medicines listed by the World Health Organization were unavailable to the people of Gaza. That is worse now. The light of peace has only dimmed since then.

I hope that, in calling for an immediate ceasefire today, this is not just a moment when the Parliament and those who want peace across the world unite to call for a ceasefire. I hope that it is a game changer in a decades-long conflict, so that we can finally give the people of Palestine and the people of Israel the peace and justice that they so desperately need and so desperately demand.

In closing, it is important to recognise that, although the conflict is in another part of the world, it has caused heightened tensions here at home. Let me be unequivocal and clear: there is no place in our society—whether in a classroom, a college or university campus, a workplace, on our public transport or on our streets—for any form of prejudice or hate. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish community in the face of antisemitism, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim community in the face of Islamophobia. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with any community that faces any form of prejudice or hate, because it is only if we see that fight as a fight for all of us that we will see a more equal and more just society at home. Only if we see every life as equal—every Palestinian and Israeli life as equal, and every Jewish, Muslim and Christian life as equal—will we see peace in the middle east and the wider world.

I move amendment S6M-11342.1, to insert at end:

“; recognises that, in order for any ceasefire to work, it requires all sides to comply; is horrified by the Hamas statement that it would repeat the 7 October attacks and continue rocket fire; regrets that Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he will not even consider a ceasefire; calls, therefore, on the international community to use every form of diplomacy to try and create the conditions on the ground to make a ceasefire a reality; further calls on the International Criminal Court to investigate the conduct of all parties in this conflict, and reaffirms the commitment to a lasting peace and a two-state solution with the end of illegal occupation, siege and settlements.”