Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2025
17 Jun 2025 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Gaza
As Carol Mochan will appreciate, the situation on the ground in Gaza is very complex. We would all like to see some honest reporting of what is transpiring.
As I was saying, calls for a ceasefire must be accompanied by calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages who are still held by Hamas. A two-state solution must be grounded in mutual recognition. I hope that members appreciate and accept that Hamas fundamentally rejects recognition of the state of Israel. I do not believe that there can be equivalence between a democratic state acting in self-defence and a terrorist organisation using civilians as shields. That is not nuance; it is moral clarity.
Let us also be clear about recognition of a Palestinian state. Statehood cannot be seen as a solution in the face of on-going violence; it must be the outcome of a genuine peace process that begins with the rejection of terror and the embracing of co-existence. Until such time as Hamas is disarmed and dismantled, and until the Palestinian leadership is willing to live in peace alongside Israel, it appears that lasting peace in the middle east will, I am sorry to say, remain tragically out of reach.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The final item of business this evening is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-17933, in the name of Bill Kidd, on the on-going crisis in Gaza. The deba...
Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
SNP
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 1...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Thank you, Mr Kidd. We move to the open debate. 18:32
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
I thank Bill Kidd for bringing this debate to the chamber. Presiding Officer, I will not stand here and give you some polished parliamentary line. I rarely ...
Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I do not doubt the passion and the sincerity with which Bill Kidd has spoken today. I read his motion very carefully. Some motions that we have debated in th...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
Will the member take an intervention?
Douglas Ross
Con
I will in one moment, Mr Greer. The international community has been clear that Hamas should play no future role in the civilian administration of Gaza. Unl...
Ross Greer
Green
I absolutely agree that aid should not be used for violence. Will the member acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that, as Bill Kidd mentioned, Israeli sold...
Douglas Ross
Con
I would never in any way—no one would—endorse executions of women and children who are waiting to get aid. No one is going to defend that—I am not going to d...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I thank Bill Kidd for giving Parliament an opportunity to discuss the horrific and enduring suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are victims o...
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green)
Green
I thank Bill Kidd for securing this debate. Collective punishment is a war crime under international humanitarian law, and it is specifically prohibited by ...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
I, too, pay tribute to Bill Kidd for his commitment to this issue and thank him for providing the opportunity for a debate. However inadequate words might fe...
Foysol Choudhury (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I thank Bill Kidd for bringing this important issue to the chamber. Presiding Officer, “Every day, we lose more ways to survive ... We’re not asking for pr...
Katy Clark (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I congratulate Bill Kidd on securing the debate. I lodged a similar motion calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state, so I am very pleased that Bi...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I respect Bill Kidd’s sincerity in lodging the motion, as I respect all those who have spoken so far, and I begin by deploring the suffering of innocent peop...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
Stephen Kerr said that Israel has a right to defend itself. How does he feel about the deliberate starvation of the Palestinian population in Gaza? In my spe...
Stephen Kerr
Con
I do not justify any action that causes civilians to suffer, but Pauline McNeill was very wise to couch her description of those events in relation to report...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Does Stephen Kerr call for international journalists to be allowed into Palestine, as some of us do, so that we can get accurate reporting of what is happening?
Stephen Kerr
Con
As Carol Mochan will appreciate, the situation on the ground in Gaza is very complex. We would all like to see some honest reporting of what is transpiring. ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Before I call the next speaker, I advise members that, given the number of colleagues who still wish to speak in the debate, I am minded to accept a motion w...
Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
In Shuhada Street, in al-Khalil, the occupation has segregated Palestinians from illegal settlements for two decades. What was once a central thoroughfare, a...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I thank Bill Kidd not just for lodging the motion but for his lifelong commitment to peace and justice. The Scottish Parliament will sorely miss his voice as...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank Bill Kidd for bringing the debate to the chamber and for all his work on establishing peace over the years that he has been in the Parliament and bey...
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
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. ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture (Angus Robertson)
SNP
I thank Bill Kidd for securing this important debate, and I pay genuine tribute to all the members, across the parties, who have spoken so powerfully. Only l...
Monica Lennon
Lab
I welcome, and agree with, the points that the cabinet secretary has made, as other Scottish Labour members have done this evening, but will he provide an up...
Angus Robertson
SNP
I will be happy to update Monica Lennon, but I must tell her what really needs to happen. On 2 September 2024, the UK Government announced the suspension of ...