4 days ago
Scottish Government minister marches in support of Palestine
In a post online, Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan shared an image of her marching in Scotland's "national demonstration" from Glasgow Green to the city centre, organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
The MSP is pictured holding a sign which states: "Peace for Palestine now."
She is also wearing a Medical Aid for Palestinians T-shirt. McAllan previously took part in a Stride for Palestinians, in aid of raising money for the charity. Alongside her constituency team, McAllan completed 107km on foot, representing the distance from Occupied East Jerusalem to Gaza.
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Today I marched in Glasgow for every child and innocent Palestinian civilian being bombed, displaced and starved by the Israeli government," McAllan wrote on Instagram.
"The atrocities must end! We must stand up and raise our voices against a genocide unfolding before our eyes. War crimes cannot be committed with impunity.
"Leaders must act. Palestinians must be free."
McAllan's words come after First Minister John Swinney said he is looking at a 'whole range of measures' to take against Israel amid its genocide in Gaza.
The Scottish Government has come under mounting scrutiny over the public money it has continuously provided for these companies.
The government agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) has given £8 million to 13 companies involved in weapons manufacturing since 2019 – although the SNP Government maintains that the funding doesn't go directly to the production of munitions and that 'due diligence' checks are thorough.
However, that has been called into question given that, of the 199 human rights checks between 2021 and 2023, no firm ever failed. Pressure has also built around arms firms' links to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel plans to widen its coming military offensive with the mobilisation of forces expected to take weeks.
Families of hostages fear the coming offensive further endangers the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, just 20 of them thought to be alive.
The United Nations is also warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Palestinians are drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza.
Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday, with one child among them. That brings malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251.
The UN and partners say getting aid into the territory of more than two million people, and then on to distribution points, remains highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry Palestinians.
The UN human rights office says at least 1760 people were killed while seeking aid between May 27 and Wednesday.
In a statement, organisers of the Glasgow march stated: "The horror genocide continues. Having mass-bombed the Palestinians and their infrastructure, we now see the systematic starvation of a desperate, displaced population.
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"Skeletal babies are dying in front of the world's eyes, deprived of the most basic nutrition. Doctors and aid workers are collapsing from hunger and exhaustion, unable to help the injured and save lives.
"Like scenes from a 'hunger games' movie, people approaching the regime's death trap 'aid' facilities are being shot as they scramble for a paltry bag of flour.
"The whole dystopian spectacle is being watched by the regime's Western patrons, refusing to impose economic sanctions and an arms embargo. Starmer, Lammy and their cohorts belong in The Hague for their direct part in the apocalypse."
