UK must end complicity in Gaza genocide
The UK must end arms sales to Israel and stop supporting and enabling the destruction of Gaza, says Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater.
UK government statistics, compiled by Campaign Against Arms Trade, show that in the last 10 years the UK has licensed at least £500 million worth of arms to Israel.
In her keynote speech to a packed room of party members, Ms Slater said: “Some of the worst war crimes of the 21st century are being inflicted on a vulnerable civilian population in a brutal act of collective punishment.
“Back in November, the Scottish Parliament voted overwhelmingly to support a full and immediate end of the ongoing slaughter in Gaza. And less than two weeks ago, the UN security council finally got on board and declared that the global community demands a ceasefire too.
“It has been shameful to see the politicking that has taken place at Westminster, descending into chaos and procedural infighting, in an attempt to avoid even debating a ceasefire.
"When we see a genocide happening we try to stop it. The UK Government tries to arm those perpetrating it.
Ms Slater continued “How many more people will have to die before they can bring themselves to say that enough is enough? Last month a United Nations expert panel called for a halt to arms sales. This week 600 lawyers and judges, including some of the world’s most eminent lawyers joined them.
“Even some Tory MPs have said it is time. It should not have taken the killing of UK citizens for this to happen. Hundreds of aid workers and journalists, and tens of thousands of innocent people have already been killed. Hospitals, schools, homes, and lives have been destroyed. But, finally, the prospect of an arms embargo is now real, and it must be achieved.
“We are doing everything we can with the limited powers we have here in Scotland. That is why we have called for an end to all Scottish Government contracts for companies fuelling the repression of Palestinians and for an end to all Scottish Enterprise support for the arms companies profiting from the destruction.
“Thanks to the Scottish Greens and other ceasefire campaigners, Israeli military flights are now banned from using the publicly owned Prestwick airport. But one airport is not enough.
“The Scottish Greens are calling for Israeli military flights to be banned from all UK airspace, and an immediate halt to all UK arms sales to Israel. We will not stand back and be complicit in slaughter. We will never support genocide. We will always stand up for human rights and with the people of Gaza."
