Hansard

More than 55,000 people have been killed and more than 127,000 people have been injured. More than 70 per cent of Gaza has been bombed into oblivion. Since 18 March this year, more than 80 per cent of Gaza has been under displacement orders or military control orders. Each day brings more untold horror. Each new report, each image and each child’s cry pierces the conscience of the world—or at least it should.

My heart goes out, as must all our hearts, to those who are directly affected—to those in Gaza who are enduring unimaginable suffering, to the families of hostages and victims, and to those in Scotland who feel that pain deeply and personally. It is a pain that we all share, whether we choose to openly acknowledge it or not.

Parliament debated this very issue in the early days of the war. At that time, some members expressed understanding for Israel’s initial actions, citing security reasons or the right to self-defence. However, I do not believe—I do not hope—that people in this Parliament continue to stand by those words in today’s circumstances. How can we defend the indefensible? How can we defend systematic destruction and blatant genocide? How can we defend mass starvation and the deliberate targeting of civilians who are seeking aid?

Only last night, I listened to a British doctor who is working in Gaza. He described the injuries of civilians—men, women and children—who had been shot while attempting to reach aid distribution points. He said that those injuries could have been inflicted only on people who were lying face down in the sand, cowering in fear, unarmed and seeking food. Those were people desperate to live, and what they found instead was a firing line—a shooting gallery. That is not just indiscriminate or inhumane; it is a direct affront to every humanitarian principle that we claim to uphold in the international order.

Yet where is the outrage? Where are the sanctions? Where, indeed, is any action? We have seen the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants, both for Hamas leaders and for the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. What is the response from the United Kingdom Government and the UK Prime Minister? At best, there are warm words; at worst, there is complicity. They are happier to be pictured with a beaming smile alongside a despotic US President who is hellbent on facilitating continuing genocide than to take action to save the people of Gaza or to acknowledge the historical injustices that the UK finds itself guilty of in the current situation.

Internationally, we see the same inaction and the same complicity. The latest UN Security Council resolution appeared to offer a glimmer of hope as members came together to call for the actions that are set out in today’s motion, only for it to be vetoed by one party—the United States.

However, rather than give the UK and others cover, we urgently need to seek other international mechanisms and instruments in the face of continual Security Council impasses. The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has asked the UN General Assembly to authorise peacekeepers to accompany humanitarian convoys. That is indeed possible and achievable. A statute dictates that, where the Security Council is paralysed by a veto, the General Assembly can—and, indeed, must—step in. A majority vote among its 193 members could authorise peacekeepers. Let us be clear that such a vote would pass. Therefore, I ask the cabinet secretary to support such a move and to urge the UK Government to bring forward such a resolution.

More glimmers of hope seemed to be on the horizon when we were told that the UK and France were on the brink of recognising a Palestinian state. A Franco-Saudi summit was planned. Ordinary Israelis have been calling for peace—I have Israeli friends who are calling for peace. Israeli Opposition leaders have called for a ceasefire and for elections to take place so that a new decision can be made.

How did Netanyahu’s regime respond? It launched a unilateral strike against Iran, risking regional war and the lives of its own citizens—all to distract from corruption charges and domestic political failure. That is why I call on not only Governments but the people of Israel—good, decent people who want peace—to speak out, because their lives, too, are being gambled away in the name of fear, hate and political preservation.

We must all do our part to speak out and to take concrete actions. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has been outspoken in its condemnation of the genocide that is taking place in Gaza and that it has been outspoken on the need to adhere to international law. I welcome its support for a Palestinian state. I welcome its announced review of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks when awarding funding. However, I note the concerns of Amnesty International and Oxfam that the review lacks the necessary transparency and their calls for an independent review, which would promote transparency and trust in the process. I would welcome the Government’s thoughts on that in its response to this evening’s debate.

Although I appreciate that our powers here are limited, our voice is not. We must ensure that we use what powers we have and that the voice that we raise is heard loud and clear, for it is not only through action but through moral leadership and partnership—although we must have action along with those—that we can hope to bring an end to the suffering.

There can be peace in the middle east, but only if the world, including this Parliament, chooses to stand up and demand it—and demand it we do.