Scottish Greens call for immediate ceasefire and humanitarian corridors in Gaza
Scottish Green members have voted overwhelmingly to support calls from the UN Secretary General for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian corridors for aid and displaced people in Gaza.
At the party’s annual conference, taking place this weekend in Dunfermline, members voted to pass the motion, which was proposed by the party’s External Affairs spokesperson, Ross Greer MSP.
In proposing the motion, Mr Greer began:
“Human rights must apply to all of us equally, or they are worthless. International law must be applied equally, or it is worthless.
“What we have seen in Gaza, across Palestine and in Israel is horrific. All acts of terror and war crimes must be condemned. Hamas murdering civilians, including children in their own homes was an appalling act of violence. They must release the hostages they have taken immediately and without preconditions.
“And the world must take action to prevent Israel inflicting further atrocities on the people of Gaza. Their relentless and indiscriminate bombing campaign against two million people is a crime they are brazenly committing in full view of the world’s media and billions of people across social media.”
Mr Greer called for the UK to take action, saying:
“Politicians like Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and Ursula Von Der Leyen must be condemned for the unconditional support they gave to the Israeli government - in Starmer’s case going as far as explicitly claiming they had the right to commit the war crime of cutting off power and water to Gaza.
“Half of Gaza’s population are children. Thousands of them have already been killed by Israeli airstrikes. Thousands more will die if the bombing continues and the ground invasion escalates."
Mr Greer finished by saying:
“A just and lasting peace can only come with the breaking of the seventeen-year long siege of Gaza, the end of Israel’s illegal occupation of all Palestinian territories and the recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state.
“The Scottish Greens have always stood for a just peace, we have always stood with the victims of violence, oppression and occupation. It is more important now than ever that we stand with the people of Gaza.”
The motion text
The Scottish Green Party;
- Supports the calls from the United Nations Secretary General for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to deliver sufficient levels of urgent humanitarian assistance to those trapped in the territory
- Condemns the recent killing and kidnapping of civilians by Hamas and its allies, recognising this as an act of terror and a war crime under international law.
- Supports calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by both Hamas and the state of Israel
- Condemns the ‘complete siege’ of Gaza carried out by the Israeli government, cutting off food, water and electricity supplies to millions of citizens and recognises that through the collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian populations and the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure, the state of Israel is once again guilty of war crimes as defined by the Geneva Conventions
- Further condemns Western politicians including Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer for statements which it believes have given uncritical backing to the criminal actions of Israeli forces
- Believes that both Hamas and the Israeli Government should be held to account by the International Criminal Court for the war crimes they have committed.
- Supports calls for a comprehensive international arms embargo on Israel and reiterates our party’s commitment to ending Scottish public funding to arms manufacturers.
- Also believes there is no military solution to this conflict and that further violence will only consign thousands more innocent people, Palestinian and Israeli, to their deaths
- Further believes that the only path to a lasting peace starts with Israel ending the siege of Gaza and the occupation & colonisation of Palestinian territories as per the pre-1967 borders
- Recommits elected representatives of the Scottish Greens at local and national level to engage in BDS (Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions) campaigns aimed at constraining Israel's ability to commit further war crimes, such as by demanding an immediate arms embargo, ensuring that Scottish pension funds divest from any companies complicit in the illegal occupation of Palestine & oppression of the Palestinian people and compelling the Scottish Government to disqualify such companies from public support.
- Reaffirms our support for a peaceful process which leads to the recognition of a Palestinian state as a step towards full self-determination for the Palestinian people.
- We further express solidarity with all those affected by the conflict and believe the best tribute to those who have died would be a lasting resolution to the conflict based on a just negotiation.
