First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf reiterated his call for the UK government to suspend arms sales to Israel on Wednesday, following the Israeli army’s killing of aid workers in Gaza.
“By not stopping arms sales to Israel, the UK is in danger of being complicit in the killing of innocent civilians.”
Recalling that he called on the government to ban arms exports from the UK to Israel in January, Yousaf claimed he had not yet received a response.
You have taken no such action, despite the death toll continuing to increase.
His call came against the backdrop of the killing of seven employees of food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip on Monday. They were citizens of Australia, Poland, the UK and Palestine, with some also holding dual US and Canadian citizenship.
WCK announced suspending its activities in the region. The attack sparked international concern, with many condemning it and demanding a thorough investigation.
Referring to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s statement on the need for an enquiry on Monday, the First Minister noted that over 190 aid workers had been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict. He added that the UK government also continued to allow British companies to arm Israel despite the Israeli army killing women, children and aid workers, as well as allegedly bombed civilian infrastructure.
“I have said repeatedly that Israel has the right to defend itself and called for the hostages to be released. I believe, however, that Israel’s actions have long since gone beyond a legitimate response. Enough is enough. The Israeli government must be held to account.”
Israel launched a retaliatory military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on 7 October that killed some 1,200 people.
Meanwhile, at least 32,975 Palestinians have been killed and 75,577 injured in Israeli attacks, resulting in widespread destruction and shortages of basic necessities. According to the UN, the Israeli war has led to the internal displacement of 85 per cent of Gaza’s population amid severe shortages of food, clean water and medicines.
Previously, Israel faced genocide charges at the International Court of Justice. An interim order issued in January demanded Tel Aviv to stop acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
