Greens force vote to close loopholes in Scottish Government Israel boycott
The Scottish Greens will use an opposition debate on Wednesday to force a vote on strengthening the Scottish Government’s boycott of Israel.
The motion calls for any company, parent company or subsidiary involved in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine to be automatically disqualified from public procurement, grants and all other forms of Scottish Government support.
A proposal brought forward by the Scottish Greens 12 months ago today made Scotland the first country in the world to back Palestinian civil society’s calls for a range of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures against the state of Israel and companies complicit in crimes against Palestinians.
But despite backing that motion, SNP Ministers have failed to take the action needed to put it into practice.
There have been no legislative changes and no automatic ban on grants or support for companies identified by the UN for their complicity in illegal settlement. Meanwhile Barclays - a company linked to financing Israel’s military - has been named as a partner in the Scottish Government’s bond scheme.
Scottish Greens’ Co-leader Gillian Mackay said:
“Public money should not be used to help companies who are profiting from illegal Israeli settlements or genocide.
“If a company is involved in settlement activity or profiting from the repression of Palestinians, it should not be eligible for Scottish Government contracts, grants or other support.
“The Scottish Government backed the Greens’ call for a boycott, but twelve months on there are still big gaps between the commitment they made and what they are actually doing.
“Wednesday’s vote is an opportunity to change that. Any company involved in illegal Israeli settlements should be disqualified from receiving Scottish Government contracts, grants or other forms of public support, including through parent or subsidiary companies.
“Scotland was the first country in the world to back Palestinian civil society’s calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Now we need to make that commitment mean something in practice and close the loopholes that allow complicit companies to benefit from Scottish public money.”