Meeting of the Parliament 21 November 2023
Along with others, I put on record my condemnation of the horrific, inhumane terrorist attack on Israelis that was carried out by Hamas on 7 October. The horrors of that day are unimaginable and the continuing nightmare faced by those being held hostage and their loved ones must come to an end. I reiterate calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Since 7 October, inhumane horrors have continued to unfold. Faced with such, I had hoped—and I still hope—that we, as a Parliament, will and can come together in solidarity with one voice to call for an end to such inhumanity. Although the majority of us are in full agreement, it is regrettable that we still find ourselves having to call for a stop to the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, including women and children, who have been besieged by Israeli forces.
Humanity defines human beings collectively and any collective punishment is an act of inhumanity. We do not get to pick and choose which acts are considered to be humane or inhumane; they are what they are. Therefore, if we condemn one act of inhumanity, we condemn all acts of inhumanity. To do otherwise will simply debase our own humanity.
In the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, the co-ordinator of Government activities in the territories likened the residents of Gaza to human animals, saying:
“animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water”
in Gaza,
“there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell.”
The ordinary people of Gaza did not carry out the horrendous attack and they should not be the ones who are forced to pay the price. Such sentiments and statements must be condemned in the same breath as we condemn the inhuman statements of Hamas and others who call for the destruction of all that is Israel. Without such condemnation, we provide tacit agreement with those statements and embolden those who make them.
Since the 7 October attack, that is exactly what we have seen unfold, with untold death, destruction and destitution continuing unabated. We must ask ourselves what side of humanity we are on and where our conscience leads us.
As MSPs, we have a duty to represent our constituents. Like many others, I have received a number of letters from constituents, calling for me to condemn acts of inhumanity and to support calls for a ceasefire. Summing up, one piece of correspondence ended:
“This issue is above and beyond party politics”.
I can say to that constituent: I hear you, I agree with you, and I, too, lend my voice to calls for a humanitarian ceasefire—now.
It not my voice alone; it is the voice of millions of people across the world, many in Israel and Palestine, of numerous charities and organisations such as Amnesty International and Oxfam, and of the secretary-general of the United Nations.
We have seen before the terrible consequences of international bodies being sidelined and ignored and seeing their authority and power ebb away. We cannot let that happen again. We are already seeing the worrying potential of the conflict escalating beyond Gaza to the wider region and beyond. We must not let that happen. We must support calls for the immediate resumption of talks to facilitate a solution to this 75-year-old Israel-Palestine question: namely a two-state solution, in line with UN resolutions. To achieve that, however, we must reiterate and enforce previous UN resolutions on the issue, for if we allow some of them to be ignored, how can we expect others to be respected? To that end, I believe that a United Nations force of blue helmets needs to be deployed to Gaza, to remain there until a two-state solution is achieved. That may be a hard task, but it is the only way forward. We are not going to stand here, year after year, and continue to have this debate.
The issue that we are debating today is not new. Palestinians have been marginalised and displaced in the west bank and beyond, and that must stop if we are to reach a place of mutual respect and mutual security—a place where we can build a better future rather than live on in an untenable past built on prejudice and ignorance. Many may see the situation as hopeless, intractable and without solution, but to give up hope is to give up on humanity. I, for one, choose hope. I, for one, choose humanity. I, for one, choose a ceasefire now.
Thank you for listening.
15:52