THE SCOTTISH Government is facing calls to end public grants for companies that are arming Israel.
Speaking ahead of a national march for Palestine in Edinburgh, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer said “we need action and not just words from the Scottish Government when it comes to standing with the people of Gaza".
The comments come in response to revelations that Scottish Enterprise, a government agency, has been awarded large sums to arm companies supplying Israel, the Scottish Greens have said. Greer (below) also reiterated proposals for the Scottish Government to ban companies identified by the UN as complicit in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine from receiving public sector grants or contracts.
In a statement, the MSP for West Scotland said: “We need action and not just words from the Scottish Government.“Successive First Ministers have rightly supported calls for a ceasefire and a halt to UK arms sales, but when it comes to areas under their direct control, action is almost non-existent.
“We have a situation where the SNP is rightly calling for the UK to halt arms sales to Israel whilst they themselves pour public money into the companies making the weapons used to slaughter Palestinians in Gaza. They are calling for peace while supporting those complicit in war.
“People across Scotland are horrified by the brutality of Israel’s bombardment, and the last thing they want is to see their money being handed to the companies fuelling it.
"Those who stand for peace should be calling for sanctions against Israel, yet it is only two weeks since the SNP’s minister for external affairs met with a senior Israeli diplomat to discuss ‘mutual interests’ like energy and culture.
"For almost 12 months Israeli forces have inflicted some of the worst war crimes of this century on the people of Gaza. It is a source of immense international shame that this has gone on for so long and that so many governments have stood back and let it happen.
"The Scottish Government deserves credit for the moral leadership it showed under Humza Yousaf, but it is long past time to move from words to actions.”
Humza Yousaf (above) has previously called for the UK to end all arms deals with Israel, stating that “the [UK] Government is in danger of being complicit in the killing of innocent civilians.”
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
