Hansard

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 of next May.

I want to ask Israel’s defenders how they can sleep at night. I also want to ask that question of the people who, two years ago, condemned those of us who pointed out that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza. Where are those voices now, when every single hospital in Gaza has been almost completely destroyed and hundreds—if not thousands—of doctors, nurses and other hospital staff have been murdered by Israeli forces? Where are those who denied that Israel would ever target Palestinian children now that we have the testimonials of surgeon after surgeon saying that all they do all day is operate on children? Those children are five, six or seven years old and have single gunshot wounds to the head—in other words, wounds caused by execution shots by Israeli soldiers. Where are those who denied that Israel would ever massacre paramedics now that a mass grave has been found of 15 Palestinian paramedics, who were buried with their ambulances in an attempt to cover up that crime? Of course, when Israel was caught, it described that massacre as a professional error—and by the way, it murdered the 12-year-old boy who witnessed it.

I can think of no other word than “twisted” to condemn the Israelis who point to the Iranian air strikes on civilian infrastructure in Israel and say, “We could never possibly do that—that is the difference between democratic Israel and tyrannical Iran.” How can those Israelis say that after two years of systematic slaughter of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank? How can they say that after 80 years of occupation and the systematic murder of Palestinian civilians with impunity and without consequence? Some of—not all—Israel’s air strikes in Iran were, indeed, highly targeted at military officials. However, all that does is prove the point that the mass slaughter of Palestinians is a choice—it is not collateral damage; Israel is choosing to deliberately kill tens of thousands of Palestinians.

I cannot wait for the Iranian people to overthrow their regime and live in freedom, but let us compare Iran with Israel. Iran has no nuclear weapons and, according to American estimates, is at least three years away from developing one. Iran allows international observers into their nuclear facilities to verify that that is the case, and it agreed to a treaty preventing it from developing nuclear weapons. In comparison, Israel has nuclear weapons, which it developed in partnership with apartheid South Africa. Israel denies that it has those weapons, but it will not allow international observers in to verify that.

Day after day, we see more starving people desperately lining up and being herded into cages for something to eat, and then being shot—executed—at aid points.

Britain is complicit in this. Throughout the slaughter, Britain has never stopped arms sales to Israel. Britain has never stopped the Royal Air Force flights over Gaza and the passing of the intelligence gathered to the Israeli military. Britain has never stopped trading with Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank. Britain has only sanctioned two ministers in the Israeli Government—not the Prime Minister, the defence minister, the President, the foreign secretary or a single military official. We now have the news that the British military is training the murderers that are the Israeli occupation force.

I am always deeply reluctant to use the word “holocaust”. I never want to diminish the unique evil of the Holocaust, but what can we call this other than a holocaust of the Palestinian people? Every year, with unanimity, we remember the victims of genocide. We say, “Never forget,” and “Never again.” However, so many of those who say that with us are now passive or even active supporters of this genocide. If you have ever asked yourself what you would have done then to prevent history’s worst atrocities, it is whatever you are doing now.

What the UK can do is end all arms sales to Israel; end intelligence sharing with the Israeli military; expel—or, better yet, arrest, rather than train—the Israeli occupation force personnel who are here; and recognise the state of Palestine.

The Scottish Government can stop giving public money to Israel’s arms dealers and can ban the companies that have been identified by the United Nations as complicit in the occupation from receiving a penny in grants or contracts in Scotland. It can call for a boycott of trade with Israel in the same way that it called for a boycott of trade with Russia. The International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001 can be used to prosecute Israeli soldiers who return here—members should be in no doubt that some of those who are committing these crimes in Palestine are from the UK.

Peace is not just an end to violence—it is the presence of justice. I pray that the perpetrators of this genocide face justice. Right now, what I pray for more than anything else is that my Palestinian friends will simply be allowed to live.