Scotland To Consider Imposing Formal Boycott On Israel
LONDON, Aug 7 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The Scottish government is considering whether to impose a formal boycott on Israel after the Greens co-leader urged First Minister John Swinney to adopt the principles of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
As Scottish daily The National reported on Thursday, the Greens' Ross Greer called for sweeping measures including official guidance to businesses, cutting funding to arms firms linked to Israel, and enabling councils to exclude companies involved in the occupation of Palestinian territories.
A Scottish government spokesperson confirmed that Cabinet ministers will 'consider' the proposal.
bootstrap slideshow
The BDS movement seeks to apply economic and political pressure on Israel similar to the international boycott of apartheid-era South Africa. The move would mirror anti-apartheid boycotts and target firms linked to Israeli occupation, arms trade, and settlement activity.
Greer's letter to Swinney called for official guidance to be issued to Scottish businesses, encouraging them to end trade with Israel, a move similar to measures taken against Russia in 2022 following the start of the Ukraine war.
Greer also urged the government to repeal part of the UK's Local Government Act 1988, which currently restricts councils from excluding companies from contracts based on political criteria.
He suggested amending the Community Wealth Building Bill to enable local authorities to bar firms involved in 'the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.'
Greer further called for an end to public funding for arms companies that have supplied Israel 'during the genocide' and for the government to cut ties with 'all other companies directly complicit in the occupation.'
He added that pension funds should be encouraged to divest from companies 'complicit in Israel's apartheid regime,' and proposed that financial penalties be imposed on such companies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
FBI ousts ex-acting director, other agents, in latest purge, people briefed say
FILE PHOTO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen at FBI headquarters, in Washington, U.S. June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI is firing another round of employees, including former Acting Director Brian Driscoll, in its latest moves against officials who worked on issues that drew President Donald Trump's ire, four people briefed on the matter said on Thursday. Driscoll, who temporarily served as the bureau's director early this year before FBI Director Kash Patel's Senate confirmation, was viewed as a hero by some in the bureau after he sought to shield them from being targeted for their role in investigating people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn Trump's election defeat. The Justice Department's former Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who has since been confirmed to serve as an appellate court judge, accused Driscoll and former FBI Acting Deputy Director Robert Kissane of insubordination, after they tried to fend off his efforts to collect a list of the names of all those people. Driscoll, nicknamed "The Drizz," told his colleagues in a farewell message on Thursday that he was given no explanation for his removal. "Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI. I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time," he wrote, according to a copy seen by Reuters. "Please know that it has been the honor of my life to serve alongside each of you." The FBI also notified at least three other agents they will be terminated by Friday, including the Washington Field Office's Assistant Director-in-Charge Steve Jensen, former Las Vegas Special Agent-in-Charge Spencer Evans and Walter Giardina, an agent in the Washington field office who was recently targeted by Republican Senator Charles Grassley for his involvement in several Trump-related cases, said the people who were briefed on the matter. Jensen, in a message to his staff, said he received a similar message that his employment will be terminated effective Friday. "Never waver in your resolve to answer the call to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution," he wrote, according to a copy reviewed by Reuters. The FBI declined to comment. The moves are the latest in a string of firings that kicked off on Trump's first day in office, including against people who worked on cases related to January 6 or former Special Counsel Jack Smith's two indictments against Trump for his retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In most of the firings, employees were not provided with explanations for their removal. Many have since filed legal challenges that remain pending. In a statement, the FBI Agents Association said it was "deeply concerned" about the reports that agents will be "summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs." "There is a review process when employment actions are taken against Agents. The process was established so that the FBI could remain independent and apolitical. FBI leadership committed — both publicly and directly to FBIAA — that they would abide by that process. We urge them to honor that commitment and follow the law," the group added. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Trump administration plans to build largest US federal migrant detention center on military base
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump visits a temporary migrant detention center informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration is aiming to construct the largest federal migrant detention facility in the United States on a military base in Texas, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the latest move to use military resources to make good on his immigration agenda. Trump has stepped up arrests of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, cracked down on unlawful border crossings, and stripped legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants. Since taking office this year, Trump has sent migrants to Guantanamo Bay naval base, though in far fewer numbers than planned. The Pentagon said the initial plan was to hold 1,000 migrants at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, by mid to late August and then finish construction of a facility with 5,000 beds in "the weeks and months ahead." "Upon completion, this will be the largest federal detention center in history for this critical mission - the deportation of illegal aliens," Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters. While the facility is being built on a military base, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to be responsible for the migrants. The detention of migrants on U.S. bases is not new. Even under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, the Pentagon had approved a request to house unaccompanied migrant children at military facilities in Texas. Trump's administration is also building other facilities to hold migrants. A 1,000-bedIndiana facility is set to open and has been nicknamed the "Speedway Slammer." The Trump administration has hailed its actions along the border, including the deployment of active-duty troops, as the reason for a sharp decline in crossings by undocumented migrants. Trump made voters' concerns about immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 reelection bid. The number of migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has hit record levels in recent weeks, with about 57,000 detained as of July 27, according to ICE data. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart. Additional reporting by Ted HessonEditing by Rod Nickel)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
South African president speaks to Russia's Putin on Ukraine crisis, bilateral issues
FILE PHOTO: South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the opening meeting of BRICS Summit, at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo
