First Minister urged to ensure Scotland plays its part in ending atrocity crimes in Gaza and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

‘The Scottish Government must confirm that it has no intention of strengthening its ties with Israel’ Neil Cowan  

The Scottish Government can do more to hold Israel accountable for serious breaches of international law, including pressing for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories to come to an end, said Amnesty International today.

In a letter to the First Minister, Amnesty has called on the Scottish Government to recognise its own obligations following the recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful.

The letter described as “disappointing” the fact that a recent meeting between Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs, and Daniela Grudsky, the Deputy Ambassador for Israel to the UK, only become public after the Deputy Ambassador posted about it on social media. The Amnesty letter calls on the First Minister to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the Scottish Government’s international activity.

In the letter, Amnesty International UK’s Scotland Programme Director, Neil Cowan, said:

"I note your decision to suspend any further engagement with Israel following the meeting, and also note the Cabinet Secretary’s subsequent statement.

“However, I would urge you to now make a broader assessment of whether the Scottish government is doing all it can to ensure that Scotland is in no way contributing to the continuing crisis in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

The letter goes on to call for the Government to conduct a review of all of Scotland’s diplomatic, political and economic ties with Israel in line with a recommendation from the International Court of Justice’s recent advisory opinion, presenting a report on the matter to the Scottish Parliament. It also called for action “to ensure that no companies or institutions involved in supplying arms to Israel, doing business in illegal settlements, or enabling the system of apartheid receive support from the Scottish government or its enterprise agencies.”

Commenting on the letter, Neil Cowan said:

“We wrote to the External Affairs Cabinet Secretary Angus Robertson in January raising concerns about transparency and accountability in relation to Scotland’s international activity.

“News of the Cabinet Secretary’s meeting with Daniela Grudsky, the Deputy Ambassador for Israel to the UK, earlier this month did nothing to allay those concerns. 

“Israel is accused of very serious breaches of international law, including war crimes.

“It is not good enough that the public and other stakeholders became aware of a meeting between the Scottish Government’s External Affairs Secretary and Ms Grudsky only because she posted about it on social media. 

“As a government seeking to champion human rights, which has also publicly condemned the atrocities being carried out by Israel in Gaza, warm words are not enough. Accountability and action in these areas is urgently needed. 

“For as long as the bombardment of Gaza, racist apartheid and illegal occupation continue, the Scottish Government must confirm that it has no intention of strengthening its ties with Israel and that it will use every lever available to it to increase international accountability for Israel’s actions.”