Scotland ‘considers' boycotting Israel

Telegraph

6 hours ago

The Scottish Government is considering imposing a state boycott on Israel.
Ministers would 'consider' a proposal from the Scottish Greens demanding the Government adopt a raft of measures designed to put pressure on the Israeli economy, a spokesman said on Thursday.
The proposal would see official guidance issued to businesses urging them to end trade with Israel, as was done with Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
If adopted, the measures would be among the most extreme taken by any European government since the start of the war in October 2023.
Critics accused the SNP of 'caving in' to the Greens and claimed the proposals would break constitutional law, which reserves international relations to the UK Government.
It comes after John Swinney became the first major political leader in the UK to claim there was a 'genocide' unfolding in Gaza in a move the Greens said they welcomed.
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign (BDS) campaigns for consumers and governments to shun companies trading with Israel in order to put pressure on the country's economy.
The letter to the First Minister, written by the Greens co-leader Ross Greer, called for the Scottish Government to scrap part of the Local Government Act 1988 in order to allow councils to block companies – deemed to have participated in the occupation of Palestinian territory – from winning contracts.
Mr Greer also demanded the Government issue guidance to businesses telling them to stop trade with Israel, and the Government stop funding arms companies selling weapons to the country.
Scottish Enterprise, a government agency, has given £8 million to 13 weapons companies involved in supplying arms to Israel since 2019.
The SNP insist that due diligence checks are done and a review found that the funding does not go directly to the production of munitions.
Mr Greer's letter, first revealed by the National, added that pension funds should be encouraged to divest from companies 'complicit in Israel's apartheid regime'.
He also suggested imposing financial penalties on 'complicit companies' through the Scottish Government's powers to impose surcharges on the business rates paid by the owners of non-domestic property.
Mr Greer told the National: 'John Swinney now rightly recognises what is happening as a genocide.
'Taxpayers' money is still being handed to companies who the United Nations has identified as being directly complicit in Israel's campaign of ethnic cleansing.'
He added: 'Scotland has a moral responsibility to act. The same approach helped end apartheid in South Africa. Now we must show that solidarity with the people of Palestine.'
In response to the letter, a Scottish Government spokesman said: 'The Scottish Government has repeatedly called for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an urgent increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
'The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to recognise a sovereign Palestinian state, as part of a two-state solution to secure lasting peace in the region.
'Ministers will consider and reply to Mr Greer's letter.'
Murdo Fraser, a Scottish Conservative MSP, said: 'The SNP shouldn't be considering caving in to the extremist Greens and their brand of student politics.
'Scotland's Jewish community will rightly be alarmed at what this boycott would mean for them.
'SNP ministers and their Green pals should focus on the day job and spend less time grandstanding on issues that have nothing to do with the remit of the Scottish Parliament.'
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, said the move could be illegal under the British constitution.
He said: 'The proposals which the Scottish Government is reportedly considering appear to be based on false information and are probably illegal, contravening both the UK constitution and international law.
'The Scotland Act reserves international relations, including the regulation of international trade, to the UK Government and parliament.'
Earlier this month, Slovenia became the first EU country to ban all weapons trade with Israel over the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
The move was however largely symbolic since Israel does not 'buy a pin' from the country, according to an Israeli official speaking to Hebrew-news site Ynet.
The Irish Government, meanwhile, could become the first EU member state to ban all imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank under legislation set to be introduced.