Scotland sends Israel strong message over Gaza

Scotland's devolved government has sent a clear message to Israel about the Gaza conflict, saying it will end funding for arms companies that trade with the nation, and calling on the central United Kingdom administration to immediately recognize the Palestinian state.

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney told lawmakers in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday it was unacceptable for arms companies to continue to receive taxpayers' money.

"If we agree we are witnessing an unfolding genocide, which actions should we take?" he asked as a Palestinian flag flew above the government's headquarters in St Andrew's House. "I've spoken about the actions I'm calling on the UK government to take, but now let me turn to what this government will do. We are instructing relevant delivery bodies, where possible, not to provide support facilitating trade between Scotland and Israel."

Glasgow-based broadsheet newspaper The Herald said his administration had drawn fire from voters for continuing to give subsidies to the defense sector, and especially to companies that do business with Israel.

Arms suppliers that work with Israel and that have operations in Scotland include BAE Systems, Leonardo, Raytheon, and Thales, which the paper says were given more than 10 million pounds ($13.5 million) in Scottish Enterprise funding between 2016 and 2020.

Swinney said the UK has "treaty obligations and duties in international law" to respond appropriately if it believes there is a serious risk of genocide. And he said the International Court of Justice has said it believes there is such a risk in Gaza, which means "the Scottish government cannot ignore this".

"Previously, we have provided business grants and investment support to companies involved in the design, production, supply, and support of military equipment, technologies, and services," he said. "We do so because we recognize that defending our country, defending our continent, is a duty of government."

But he said "new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed" will be paused, which will affect money distributed by the Scottish government, the Scottish National Investment Bank, and the nation's enterprise agencies.

Swinney also said 20 children who have been injured in Gaza will offered free medical treatment in Scotland, and that Scotland will spend 400,000 pounds on building a rapidly deployable hospital for Gaza.

Swinney also urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to withdraw from the UK-Israel free-trade agreement.

The UK's central government has increased its criticism of Israel recently, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling Israel's treatment of Palestinians "an affront to the values of the British people". And London has also said it will recognize the state of Palestine in the coming weeks, if Israel does not meet conditions that include a ceasefire.

Several humanitarian organizations welcomed Swinney's speech, with the BBC quoting Jamie Livingstone, the head of Oxfam Scotland, as saying: "Pausing new public funding to arms companies in Scotland implicated in this devastation is a vital act of solidarity. It must be implemented quickly and robustly."

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said more than 60,000 people have died in the territory since October 2023, following an assault by Hamas fighters on Israel that claimed around 1,200 lives.