To:
Humza Yousaf
First Minister of Scotland
Scottish Government
St Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
07 Dec 2023
From: The Scottish Palestinian Society
Subject: Asking to Reaffirm the Scottish Government’s Call for An Arms Embargo
The Palestinian Society in Scotland urgently appeals to the Scottish Government to renew its call made in 2014 and repeated in 2015 for an arms embargo on Israel in response to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade has highlighted 19 companies operating across 43 locations in Scotland involved in exporting military goods to Israel, notably including prominent entities like BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin. We ask for your support in calling for a comprehensive arms embargo, on Israel. Additionally, we urge you to exert pressure on the UK Government for the implementation of such an embargo.
Palestinians in Scotland ask the Scottish Government to cut all public funding for companies complicit in Israeli apartheid through Scottish Enterprise. Nearly £10 million in public funds have been allocated since 2021 to arms companies providing weapons to Israel.
We also ask the Scottish Government to suspend diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. The current phase in Palestine marks the most harrowing chapter of ethnic cleansing since 1948, with a staggering toll of Palestinian lives lost. Israeli forces have claimed the lives of approximately 16,200 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank in less than 60 days, tragically including at least 7,100 children. Moreover, countless individuals are still unaccounted for, buried under the rubbles. Since October 7th, Israel’s relentless aggression has forcibly displaced 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza, while arbitrary arrests and killings persist across Occupied Palestine evoking comparisons to a second Nakba. The people endure unspeakable suffering and the obliteration of essential infrastructure, epitomising Israel’s grave disregard for human life.
In light of these urgent and distressing developments, we, the Scottish Palestinian Society, respectfully urge the First Minister of Scotland to engage in a meeting with us. It is imperative to discuss and address the pressing concerns surrounding the ongoing crisis in Palestine. We need to discuss practical steps and strategies that Scotland can undertake to actively support the cause of justice, peace, and human rights for the Palestinian people.
Yours sincerely,
Scottish Palestinian Society