Lorna Slater: Made in Britain, dropped on Gaza - the arms trade must end now
Over the past eighteen months we have witnessed some of the most horrific atrocities of our time. Thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza - so many of them children - have been killed, maimed or displaced as Israel wages a relentless and brutal assault on a besieged and impoverished population.
The scale of the suffering is almost incomprehensible. Entire families wiped out in a single airstrike. Hospitals and schools reduced to rubble. Aid convoys turned away or attacked. Children buried under collapsed buildings or left to starve in refugee camps that offer no refuge. As a humanitarian disaster unfolds, we are faced with a simple but urgent question: How much longer will the world allow this to happen?
This weekend more than 90 lorry loads of humanitarian aid were collected by UN teams inside the Gaza Strip, three days after Israel eased an 11-week-long blockade. There is no scenario in which a near three month aid blockade to innocent, starving civilians can be justified.
There are signs that global opinion is finally shifting. From the streets of London to the chambers of The Hague, millions have raised their voices to demand justice and accountability. South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice served as a wake-up call to many who could no longer ignore the overwhelming evidence of war crimes and collective punishment.
But it is too late for too many and for those still alive in Gaza, the change is not coming fast enough.
Here in the UK, we cannot stop the war - but we can and we must stop being complicit in it.
For too long, the UK Government has turned a blind eye to the role this country plays in enabling Israel’s actions. The weapons and technology being used to inflict death and destruction are being produced, in part, right here in Scotland.
In Edinburgh, arms factories have supplied components and support for the very bombs and drones that have been dropped on Gaza’s neighbourhoods. These are not abstract facts, they are matters of life and death.
We cannot claim to be champions of human rights and international law while continuing to sell weapons to a state that refuses to abide by either.
We cannot ignore the fact that Israel has deliberately obstructed and denied humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, in violation of global norms and basic human decency.
This is not a time for silence or for carefully worded statements of concern. It is a time for action.
The UK Government must immediately suspend arms exports to Israel.
It must launch a full review of the licences already granted and ensure that no British-made weapons are used to commit war crimes. Keir Starmer must demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and support genuine efforts for peace, accountability, and justice.
Here in Scotland, we must do our part too. From the Scottish Parliament to the streets of our cities, people are demanding change. We must listen. We must act.
The people of Gaza deserve to live in peace, with dignity and freedom. Not under siege and bombardment. If we cannot stop the bombs, we must at least stop helping to build them.
Lorna Slater, Scottish Green party co-leader