JOHN Swinney will call on the Scottish Parliament to unite and agree that the State of Palestine should be recognised.
On Wednesday, the First Minister will set out a range of measures, agreed with the Scottish Cabinet, that the Government will take in response to the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
He will urge MSPs to back the recognition of a Palestinian State, through a motion put forward by External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson.
It comes as the Greens urged Swinney to take “concrete action” against Israel, including ensuring that companies profiting from the genocide in Gaza do not receive public funding.
Ahead of his statement, the First Minister said: “We have watched the death toll in Gaza grow on a daily basis.
“The international community, including Scotland, has called on the Israeli government to agree to an immediate ceasefire but the calls go unanswered and the death toll spirals. It is simply unacceptable.
“I continue to share the concerns of other governments and international leaders that actions of the Israeli government in Gaza constitute genocide. That means we urgently need to do more to help.
“My Cabinet and I have agreed a range of actions that the Scottish Government can take in response to the crisis in Gaza.
“I will outline those measures in Parliament this afternoon and I urge all members to unite and show their support for the people of Gaza, to call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and an end to this conflict.”
The Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour and Scottish Tories have lodged amendments ahead of the debate.
Patrick Harvie, for the Greens, has urged MSPs to go further and “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."
Scottish Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw is seeking to water down the motion by changing it to read: “at the appropriate time and as part of a wider and lasting peace settlement in which the Palestinian people are free from the control of Hamas.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s Neil Bibby has lodged a lengthy amendment that seeks to “welcome actions taken by the UK Government” in response to the crisis, adding 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.”
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer has previously written to the First Minister urging him to adopt the principles of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. It aims to put pressure on the Israeli economy in the mould of the anti-apartheid boycott of South Africa.
Greer has also urged the Government to change the law to let councils disqualify complicit companies from receiving contracts and end grants to arms dealers and other firms who have traded with Israel, as well as imposing penalties on business rates.
“This statement is his [Swinney’s] opportunity to change that and for the Scottish Government to start taking action. If a company is profiting from genocide, they should not get a penny more in grants or contracts here in Scotland,” Greer said.
“What Israel is doing to Palestine is one of the greatest crimes against humanity of this century. Every government and every leader across the world will be judged on how they respond to this atrocity.
"So far, the Scottish Government has been strong on words and lacking in action. I hope this is the day that changes.”
