MSPs finally vote to boycott apartheid Israel – now we must work to ensure the Scottish Government take immediate action

3 September 2025

We welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement of a pause on public funding to arms companies linked to Israel and restrictions on the facilitation of trade with the apartheid and genocidal state of Israel. We look forward to greater detail around what this will look like in practice.  

John Swinney's statement is long overdue and comes after 23 months of relentless Israeli violence, including genocide in Gaza and escalating settler-colonialism in the West Bank.

That it has taken this long—despite overwhelming evidence from the start—is unacceptable. This announcement is a direct result of the work of SPSC and other organisations and individuals across Scottish civil society who have marched, lobbied, educated, and organised, demanding action from the Scottish Government.

We are concerned about the SNP’s motion to recognise a Palestinian state. During an ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing, symbolic recognition is not solidarity—it’s a distraction. If we support the self-determination of the Palestinian people, we must first stop Israel's brutal violence and violations of Palestinian rights and dignity, and refrain from imposing a solution that aims to maintain a settler colonial state of Israel. What is urgently needed is real accountability: boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS).

We were shocked to see discussion during this debate conflating the state of Israel and Scotland’s Jewish communities, many of whom have marched, lobbied and organised in solidarity with the people of Palestine. It was also shamefully notable that there was no mention of any outreach to the Scottish Palestinian community, who are witnessing the genocide of their people, their families. 

The Scottish Green Party has adopted a principled and consistent approach from the start of the genocide, and their motion amendment and contributions in the debate were considerate and carried the urgency for action in the form of BDS that Palestinians have been calling for, not just for the last 23 months, but for 20 years. 

We welcome today’s monumental shift—but it’s only a beginning. We must keep building pressure on the Scottish Government to ensure it takes forward the motion passed in the Scottish Parliament today.

Our work continues to take this decision forward by accelerating our BDS campaigns.

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• Scottish Government statement: Support for defence companies involved in Israel halted
• Scottish Green Party Palestine - Amendment 1