SACC Statement on the Scottish Parliament's call for a Boycott on Israel
08 September 2025 - SACC
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SACC welcomes the vote in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 3 September calling 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."
We also welcome the statement made to the Parliament the same day by First Minister John Swinney that he "shared the concerns of other countries and international leaders that a genocide appears to be unfolding in Gaza" and we welcome his announcement of a range of measures that will draw Scotland away from its current complicity in the genocide.
Taken together, the motion agreed by the Scottish Parliament and the measures announced by John Swinney amount to a turning point in Scottish policies towards Palestine and Israel. They are very different from the track pursued by External Affairs minister Angus Robertson. He must now resign.
But there are serious disappointments in the new policies.
We are astonished that the motion agreed by the Scottish Parliament makes no reference to the UN General Assembly resolution of 13 September 2024 demanding that "Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" and does so "no later than 12 months from the adoption of the present resolution" - a deadline which will shortly expire. The calls by the Parliament and Scottish Government for a "ceasefire by all parties" distract from recognition that Israel is required by international law to get out of the Occupied Palestinian Territory immediately.
We are disappointed that John Swinney expressed himself in terms of "concerns" about genocide instead of repeating the remark he made after his Fringe show on 3 August that: "It’s quite clear that there is a genocide in Palestine – it can’t be disputed." It's particularly puzzling because, in tweeting a video clip of his own speech in the Parliament in which he "shared the concerns of other countries", John Swinney said: "Let's be clear - a genocide is unfolding in Gaza as a result of Israel's actions."
The difference between John Swinney's statement to the Parliament and his personal remarks is that, while calling in his statement for the UK to join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he has ducked the opportunity to align Scotland directly with the case. Only states can be parties to proceedings at the court. But we would like to hear the Scottish Government say unequivocally that in its view Israel is committing genocide and that Scotland supports the South African action at the ICJ. And we would like the Scottish Government to discuss with South Africa any ways in which it could give practical help.
The Scottish Parliament's call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel came about through an amendment tabled by Patrick Harvie (Scottish Green Party) to a motion tabled by External Affairs Minister Angus Robertson saying that "the Parliament agrees with the recognition of the State of Palestine." SNP MSPs supported Patrick Harvie's amendment and also supported an amendment tabled by Ian Bibby (Scottish Labour) welcoming a number of actions by the UK Government and saying that "there must be an immediate ceasefire, with delivery of humanitarian aid and food into Gaza, the release of all the hostages and a pathway to a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, secured by a two-state solution."
Angus Robertson's motion supporting recognition of the state of Palestine was presumably intended to anticipate the UK's likely imminent recognition of the state of Palestine. Ian Bibby's amendment deepened the alignment of the Scottish Parliament's position with UK policy and re-affirmed its support for a two-state solution - a diplomatic fiction that Israel has made unrealisable and that in any case offers no solution to Israel's domestic apartheid.
Without Patrick Harvie's amendment the motion would have been pointless and unremarkable. As amended, the motion is internationally significant and puts Scotland in the vanguard of international efforts to isolate Israel.
The amended motion passed by the Parliament states:
"That the Parliament agrees with the recognition of the State of Palestine and that peace in the region must be pursued by all; welcomes the actions taken by the UK Government to respect the jurisdiction and independence of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, restrict arms sales licences to prevent breaches of international law, issue sanctions on Israeli ministers and settlers in the West Bank and commit to recognising a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly; calls on the Scottish Government to update the Parliament on the due diligence checks carried out by Scottish Enterprise during investment decision processes to ensure that defence products are not used in breaches of humanitarian law in Gaza or elsewhere; considers that there must be an immediate ceasefire, with delivery of humanitarian aid and food into Gaza, the release of all the hostages and a pathway to a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, secured by a two-state solution, 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."
We are disappointed that Scottish Labour abstained on Patrick Harvie's amendment and the amended motion, with the exception of rebels Alex Rowley (mid Scotland and Fife) and Mercebes Villalba (North East Scotland) who voted for amendment and the amended motion
The SNP's decision to support Patrick Harvie's amendment, and John Swinney's decision to acknowledge Israeli genocide and announce substantial measures against Israel are the consequences of mass public support for Palestine, particularly through the efforts of the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee and the Edinburgh Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee. SACC is affiliated to both organisations.
It is disturbing to find that, in announcing measures that we find broadly helpful, John Swinney has also taken a step that we strongly oppose.
The Scottish Government has for years banned Scottish Enterprise and other government agencies from supporting any project involving munitions production. But it has interpreted this ban narrowly and has given funds to arms companies for purposes not directly involving munitions production. In a move that might be seen as an attempt to close this loophole in relation to arms supplies to Israel, John Swinney told the Parliament: "We will pause 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 by that country." And he said "that will include Israel."
But at the same time as closing this loophole he announced an end to the general ban on support for munitions production, saying: "In recognition of that changed international landscape, the Scottish Government will lift the restriction we have applied on the use of support for the production of munitions." This policy reversal aligns Scotland more closely with Keir Starmers militarisation of the UK. Its ill-effects will perhaps be held up for a time by the ban on support for companies that supply Israel, which would include many of Scotland's main arms companies. It is ironic that, at the same time as trying to mitigate a crisis in Palestine brought about by a century of British colonialism, John Swinney is encouraging new military adventures by the British military that will certainly create new disasters.
Notes
- Full text of the Scottish Paliament motion on Palestine 3 September 2025, with amendments and votes: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-18686
- Statement by First Minister John Swinney on the Situation in Gaza, 3 September 2025 https://www.gov.scot/publications/situation-in-gaza-first-ministers-statement/
- In line with the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, SACC calls for Israel to end its occupation and colonisation of all Arab lands and dismantle the Wall; to recognise the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality and to respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194. We have no view on the constitutional framework (eg one-state or two-state) through which these rights should be implemented, but we believe they require a radical and liberating political transformation throughout Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Photo: Protesters climb onto the Scottish Parliament building, Edinburgh and unfurl banner protesting against arms sales to Israel, 9 November 2023 © Iain Masterton / Alamy All rights reserved
