Greens to force vote on Scottish Government funding for Israel’s arms dealers
The Scottish Greens will use an opposition debate on Wednesday to hold a vote on ending all Scottish Government support for companies who have armed and supported Israel’s genocide against Gaza.
The Scottish Government has strongly opposed the bombing and collective punishment of Gaza. Despite this, since the assault began it has given over £1 million to companies that have armed Israel via Scottish Enterprise.
This week one of those companies, arms giant BAE systems, announced profits of more than £3 billion for 2024.
The party’s co-leader, Lorna Slater, said:
“Israel’s assault on Gaza is one of the worst war crimes of this century. There is no justification for the collective punishment and mass killing they have inflicted.
“The Israeli government has been condemned by the International Criminal Court and every reputable human rights organisation for the atrocities it has carried out against Palestinians, and now it is working with Donald Trump to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
“The Scottish Government has rightly stood against the genocide, but it continues to give public money to the arms dealers who are directly enabling it.
“Scotland can’t control UK foreign policy, but we can control where our public money goes and the companies and industries that we choose to support.
“It’s time for the Scottish Government to put their money where their mouth is and end all subsidies for the war profiteers making such a killing.”
In 2018 the Scottish Greens secured new requirements for Scottish public bodies to conduct human rights checks for grant applicants. Despite this, Scottish Enterprise has continued to fund the world’s biggest arms dealers.
Ms Slater added:
“If a human rights check still allows public money to flow to companies profiting from war crimes, then it’s clearly not fit for purpose.
“Every MSP who is horrified by the destruction in Gaza should support our motion and call for an end to government grants to the world’s biggest arms companies."