THE Scottish Greens will use an opposition debate at Holyrood this week to force a vote on strengthening the Scottish Government’s boycott of Israel.
The motion on Wednesday will call for any company, parent company or subsidiary involved in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine to be automatically disqualified from public procurement, grants and all other forms of Scottish Government support.
It comes after the party hit out last week at the Scottish Government for not automatically barring companies named on a UN database of businesses linked to Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.
A year ago, Scotland became the first country in the world to back Palestinian civil society’s calls for a range of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures against the state of Israel amid the genocide in Gaza.
But despite backing that motion, SNP ministers have been accused of failing to take the action needed to put it into practice – notably after confirming that Barclays was one of nine banks chosen to support a £1.5 billion issuance of bonds.
But the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement notes that Barclays has an agreement with Israel to act as a “primary dealer” for its government bonds.
The global bank has also been accused of holding more than £2bn in shares and providing more than £6.1bn in loans and underwriting for nine firms whose weapons and technology are being used by the Israeli military against Palestinians.
“Public money should not be used to help companies who are profiting from illegal Israeli settlements. If a company is involved in settlement activity or profiting from the repression of Palestinians, it should not be eligible for Scottish Government contracts, grants or other support,” Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said.
“The Scottish Government backed the Greens’ call for a boycott, but twelve months on there are still big gaps between the commitment they made and what they are actually doing.”
She added: “Wednesday’s vote is an opportunity to change that. Any company involved in illegal Israeli settlements should be disqualified from receiving Scottish Government contracts, grants or other forms of public support, including through parent or subsidiary companies.
“Scotland was the first country in the world to back Palestinian civil society’s calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Now we need to make that commitment mean something in practice and close the loopholes that allow companies profiting from illegal settlements to benefit from Scottish public.”
