HUMZA Yousaf called on Keir Starmer to halt arms sales should he be made prime minister during a powerful speech at a pro-Palestine rally in Glasgow on Saturday.
Campaigners marched through Queen’s Park in the city’s south side with the former first minister and University of Glasgow rector Ghassan Abu-Sittah among those in attendance.
More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of Israel’s bombardment in October.
When children are being killed, refugee camps and hospitals are being bombed, how can anyone possibly justify sending weapons to Israel? In around 20 days, Starmer is likely to be the next PM. If he has an ounce of humanity, he must immediately halt UK arms sales to Israel. pic.twitter.com/ST0S93jh4b
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) June 15, 2024
Addressing the crowd, Yousaf said: “When hospitals are bombed, where is your humanity? When incubators have to be turned off and premature babies wither and die because of the Israeli siege, where is your humanity?
“When Hind Rajab, who is barely older or was barely older than my daughter had to plead for her life for hours and then was killed by the self-styled most moral army in the world, then where is your humanity?
“When refugee camps are bombed, where is your humanity? When a father holds up the decapitated body of his child and asks for what crime was he killed, then where is your humanity?”
Yousaf continued: “So that is why you are marching here every single day in the numbers that you do is so important.
“So I say to Keir Starmer (below), who will probably be occupying Number 10 in a matter of around 20 days.
“If you have an ounce of humanity, immediately end the sale of arms to Israel and do it right now.”
UK ministers have so far rejected increasing calls to end arms sales to Israel despite pressure to do so.
Yousaf isn’t the first to call for Starmer to commit to ending arms sales either, with more than 100 artists signing a letter asking him to do so should he become prime minister.
It was signed by a range of celebrities, including Steve Coogan, Maxine Peake, Riz Ahmed and Paloma Faith.
