Meeting of the Parliament 03 September 2025
I welcome this opportunity for Parliament to endorse the recognition of Palestine. It is more than 50 years since the United Nations recognised the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and sovereignty. Over those five decades, the failure of the international community to make that right a reality has been one of the greatest injustices in modern world history.
The urgency is clear for anybody who can bring themselves to look. For generations, Palestinians have endured a brutal occupation, and for almost two years now, they have been subjected to war crimes on a grotesque scale. The weight of legal opinion is absolutely clear: this is genocide. The recent resolution of the International Association of Genocide Scholars provides one example. It sets out that
“the actions of the Israeli Government against Palestinians have included torture, arbitrary detention, and sexual and reproductive violence; deliberate attacks on medical professionals, humanitarian aid workers and journalists; and the deliberate deprivation of food, water, medicine and electricity”.
It also sets out the explicit statements of intent, which are genocidal in nature, from senior members of the Israeli Government.
It is unquestionable that, to achieve justice for Palestine, action must be taken. There is action that Scotland can take. During the recess, my colleague Ross Greer wrote to the Scottish Government to set out the actions that it can and should take now—on boycotts, divestment and sanctions. There are actions that do not rely on waiting for permission from the UK Government, such as disapplying part of the Local Government Act 1988 to allow councils to boycott companies that are complicit in the occupation, calling for public pension funds to divest from complicit companies, urging businesses to cease trading with Israel—exactly as the Scottish Government did in relation to Russia—and stopping giving public moneys to arms dealers that supply Israel. I very warmly welcome the announcement today that some of those steps will be taken; we will continue to press for others.
The UK Government should do the same and can do far more. The UK talks of the right of Israel to defend itself but says nothing about the right of Palestinians to resist occupation. Labour’s amendment to the motion that we are debating recognises some positive steps, so we will not oppose it, but it takes too much credit for half measures and is a reminder of just how lacking the UK Government’s response has been.
Respecting the ICC is an important principle, but there are those, including the Prime Minister, who have used it as an excuse for not describing the situation as genocide. Obviously, we support restoration of UNRWA funding, but arms export restrictions have been extremely limited. The UK has continued to provide other forms of practical and political support to the Israeli Government.
Sanctions on Israeli ministers are welcome, but the UK has not taken any steps against UK citizens who have travelled to Israel, fought for the IDF, killed a few Palestinians and returned home to face no legal consequences.
Calling for a ceasefire, aid, hostage releases and a two-state settlement is the easy bit. However, the Labour Government has not used the international voice of the UK to condemn the United States and Trump’s explicit proposals for ethnic cleansing.
This issue does not stop with state recognition. There is further action that the international community must take, including co-ordinated international sanctions. The world must work together to deliver what it voted for at the UN 50 years ago: the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty in Palestine. The Palestinian state that emerges must have global support to rebuild what Israel’s violence has destroyed, and it must have robust security guarantees against future incursion, invasion or occupation. Recognition of the state is long overdue, but it is only the first step towards justice for Palestine.
I move amendment S6M-18686.1, to insert at end:
“, and calls on the Scottish and UK governments to immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine.”
16:11Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
- S6M-18686.1 Palestine Motion