 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 1217, in the name of Ivan McKee on immediate ceasefire in Palestine and Israel. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I invite members who wish to participate to press their request-to-speak buttons now and I invite Ivan McKee to open the debate up to seven minutes. Mr McKee. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It gives me no pleasure to open this debate. I would much rather be celebrating the creation of a Palestinian state or a state of Israel Palestine that allows all the people between the river and the sea to live in peace, justice and equality, but tragically that is not where we are today. The latest conflict in Israel Palestine since October of last year has claimed more than 30,000 lives. The majority of the women and children and the vast majority in the Gaza Strip. The conditions in Gaza, as reported by Oxfam and others, are horrendous. Disease, non-nutrition, destruction of health services and living accommodation. Presiding Officer, we rightly debate in this place the health and housing challenges that we face in this country. Spare a thought for the horrific conditions in Gaza at this very moment. The work of UNRWA and others in doing what they can to mitigate these conditions is increasingly difficult and never more needed, and continued funding for that work is essential. This conflict did not start on 7 October. It has been on-going for more than 75 years. That is the 15th Israeli military invasion of the Gaza Strip since 1948, the most recent in 2008 and again in 2014. The Gaza Strip has been under siege since 2007. The IDF that he adopted described to us by members of Breaking the Silence, the organisation of X, IDF service members dedicated to highlighting human rights abuses is based on the principle that there will be no end to the conflict and that, therefore, a major strategic objective of any military operation is to deliver as much destruction to civilian infrastructure as possible so that the next inevitable clashes are delayed as long as possible. The slaughtering Gaza, committed by the Netanyahu regime, had now claimed as many victims as Putin's flattening of Grozny in the First Church in war or the Assad regime's seas of Aleppo. There is no case for a delay in calling for a ceasefire. Tens of thousands have died, as politicians in the west have privaricated over semantics. Now is the time for clarity and bravery. The UK Government has weight and influence in the international community. The Netanyahu regime operates as it does because it perceives a green light from that international community. Some countries have taken their responsibility seriously. I commend the Government of South Africa, a country, of course, with its own experience of apartheid, in taking this case to the international court of justice, where an initial ruling indicates that there may be a case to answer that the actions of Israel and Gaza constitute genocide against the Palestinian people. Incitement to genocide is also a crime and it is not hard to find potential examples. Talk of flattening Gaza, turning it into rubble, eliminating everything, making it a place where no human can exist, creating a humanitarian crisis, removing all restrictions on the actions of soldiers, calls for collective punishment itself a war crime, depriving civilian populations of food, water, electricity and healthcare. Not the rhetoric of some fringe figures, but worse than the leadership of the Israeli Government and the IDF. It is unfortunate that a tragic and recurring theme of the human condition that is easier to be honest about events in hindsight than to recognise them for what they are as they unfold. We now recognise events in boys in the 1990s as a genocide. That was not the case, and I remember it very well, when the major government provided for years with Douglas Hurd working to prevent defence and protective equipment being delivered to the defenders of Sarajevo. The massacre in Srebrenica brought about the downfall of the Dutch Government, but not until some years later. The actions of the Government of France, the colonial power, is in at best acquiescence and possibly complicity, and we now recognise genocide in Rwanda. I raise these examples because they provide a lesson to those who play politics with the slaughter in Gaza, who delay and prevaricate and triangulate, waiting for others to make the first move to give them political cover. The Augustinian approach to ending atrocities. Please, Lord, stop this slaughter, but just not yet. Let us not forget what is happening in the West Bank, which I visited in 2018. Land theft continues. Palestinian rights continue to be eroded. Death of Palestinian civilians have soared to more than 300 in this period. The reality, of course, is that there can be no military or security solution to the problems of the region. After nearly five months of bombardment of Gaza, the fighting continues. The tunnels are still there. The IDF continues to take casualties. Hamas continues to function. The hostages still haven't, for the most part, been found or freed. Indeed, the IDF has perhaps managed to shoot more hostages than it has liberated. Voices in Israel recognise that. We all want to see the release of hostages. The quickest way to do that is through immediate ceasefire in negotiations. Indeed, the only significant release of hostages came about through the beef ceasefire in November of last year. Those negotiations must also lead to the recognition of a Palestinian state. Something that I believe is now the position of the UK Labour Party. If Keir Starmer is the next Prime Minister, I hope to see that this promise delivered without delay and not abandon us has been the case for other commitments. I know that there are many good colleagues in the Labour Party who will work to make that a reality. That motion also recognises the many Israeli-induced voices who condemn the actions of the Netanyahu regime. Recognising that it only makes the lives of Palestinians hell but also prolongs the conflict, it makes Israelis less safe too. Baking of silence and telling the Israeli human rights organisation and many others. I have attended and spoken at rallies calling for a ceasefire and have been heartened and encouraged by the number of Jewish voices present and speaking at those events. I leave the last words to Jewish voices of the past that resonate today. The leader of the Warsaw gets it up rising, Mark Edelman. To be a Jew always means being with their press and never their presser. And Dutch holocaust survivor, High on my Earth, talking about the situation in Palestine, never again for anyone. I am aware of the very many members who wish to participate in this debate. I am therefore minded to take, accept a motion without notice under rule 8.14.3 to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Mr McKee to move such a motion. Thank you very much. The question is that the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes. Are we all agreed? That is agreed. We are nevertheless under extreme time pressure afternoon businesses due to start at 2 o'clock. Staff will need to come in to prepare the chamber. So I propose to conclude the debate at 10 to 2 at the latest. I intend to also make sure that all members who wish to speak have a chance to participate, but they will have to stick to their time and members towards the end of the debate may even have to truncate their remarks further. On that note, I call for Jackson Carlaw to be followed by Neil Bibby up to 4 minutes. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I note the opportunity afforded by Ivan McKee with his motion today for the chamber to have a further discussion on this really troubling and horrendous international situation. First of all, can I, as I have done before, pay tribute to the many interfaith organisations here in Scotland who are working really round the clock every day to do all that they can to maintain cohesive relations here in Scotland and with some real track record of success. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude in ensuring that a very tense international situation does not dissolve into a very serious situation in our own country here in Scotland. This is a short debate and therefore there are two areas that I would like to address in my contribution. Obviously the events since the 7th of October have unfolded as badly or even more badly than any of us could have anticipated or predicted at the time of our last discussion. I have to say that irrespective of the speeches we make here today or the calls for action from anywhere, it does not seem to me that we are anywhere near a resolution or even a mitigation of what is a desperately difficult position currently in the region. The consequences of that, I think, were very clearly and fairly laid out by Ivan McKee. At the heart of this is the call for a ceasefire. There shouldn't be a competition between parties for who's got the boldest ceasefire. This is a question of the principle of a ceasefire and people, I think, are troubled at why I and some others are reluctant to join in that call for an immediate ceasefire. It's not really one of principle, it's one when I look at the terms associated with the calls for a ceasefire that I see from the letter that Ian Murray sent to Stephen Flynn or from the resolution even of the Labour Party at the House of Commons yesterday, a great deal of which I could agree with, but contained in these calls for a ceasefire is a recognition that there has to be a ceasefire on all sides, meaning rockets in and out of Gaza have to stop. It's a recognition that the hostages have to be released, 134 of whom still remain unaccounted for including Keir Bebas, who is one years old, Ariel Bebas, who is four years old, and Adam Berger, who is 19 years old, of whom nothing has subsequently been heard. It does, implicitly, in the rhetoric of all, mean that, at some point, there has to be a way forward in Gaza that does not leave the Hamas regime in place dictating the future, because they have made clear that they will not respect a ceasefire and they will immediately resume at the earliest opportunity their attacks on Israel. We cannot have a ceasefire where Israel ceases and Hamas fires. It has to be a ceasefire that we can believe will happen. In those circumstances, if the hostages are released, if Hamas is no longer able to influence the outcome of events, and if there is a mutual ending to the attacks from both countries, I can then support a ceasefire. I hope that, out of that, we can see a much more likely and secure future for the region. Meanwhile, aid now can come into the country unrestricted. There are some 13,000 trucks that have entered over three crossing points. There are currently at the moment 450 aid trucks in Gaza that cannot be distributed. I recognise that there is a genuine fear in the part of those who would distribute that aid that they can do so safely. I can certainly support the idea that there should be a pause in hostilities in order for that aid to be as widely distributed as is possible, nor do I think, as I have said before, that I support every action of the Israeli Government. I resent and reject the suggestion that I do. People ask me why. Why do you bother with any of this? I stand here in a Parliament with Muslim MSPs, with Sikh MSPs, with Hindu MSPs, with Protestant MSPs, with Catholic MSPs, but no Jew—never a Jew. As the representative of 50 per cent of Scotland's Jewish community, I, as my immediate predecessor, Ken Macintosh, believe that I have a responsibility to articulate arguments on their behalf, but that is not the same thing as endorsing all the actions of the Israeli Government. It is important that we work together to secure a future for the region. I am going to call Ryo Bibi to be followed by John Mason. Up to four minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank Ivan Heave for bringing forward this debate. The situation in Gaza is tragic and heartbreaking. I know that there are strongly held views across the chamber on this, an issue that we all care about. So many innocent lives have been taken or destroyed. Countless children have died and continue to die each and every day. There are many families here in Scotland with relatives in Gaza and in Israel who have been impacted by this horror. These are the victims of this tragedy and we owe it to all of them to do everything we possibly can to end this terror. I welcome that the House of Commons has joined this Parliament in voting to call for an immediate stop to the fighting and a sustainable ceasefire. This follows the leaders of our allies Australia, Canada and New Zealand in calling for an end to the hostilities in order for hostages to be released. I am going to focus my remarks on what needs to happen to help people on the ground now, because a cessation of the violence is the only thing that will help right now. We need an end to the fighting and an end to rocket fire coming in and out of Gaza. This is needed in order to allow hostages to be safely exchanged whilst they are still alive and for food, medicine and other aid supplies to safely get to those who need it. We also need to say with one voice to Israel that, like any other state, it has the right to defend itself, not least from indiscriminate terrorist attack, but every state has the responsibility to exercise restraint and proportion in its response. There are very legitimate questions to be asked about Israel's actions. The International Court of Justice is the proper place for them to be adjudicated on. We respect their jurisdiction and so too should Israel. We should also say with one voice that an assault on Rafa will 1.5 million people are crammed together in unimaginable conditions with nowhere they can go, would be incontruable and would have disastrous consequences. Approximately 75 per cent of Gaza's population are displaced, most of them in Rafa. 17,000 children are estimated to be separated from their families. We need de-escalation, not any further escalation. 7 October 2023 saw the largest loss of Jewish life in any single day since the Holocaust, inflicted by Hamas. Since, as Ivan McKee has said, almost 30,000 Palestinians, the majority of them, women and children, have been confirmed killed. Presiding Officer, this has, of course, been an ongoing situation for decades. From the ashes of this tragedy must become a renewed emphasis on a two-state solution, which is a position that all parties here share. A safe and secure Israel, with the horrors inflicted by Hamas, a brutal and anti-Semitic terrorist organisation, on October 7, can never happen again. A viable Palestinian state alongside with safe borders and ultimately recognition for that Palestinian state. A state, as Anasawa recently put it, which is not in the gift of any neighbour but is the inalible right of the Palestinian people. In the face of the horrors of recent months, it is easy to sink into despair and hopelessness, but we must not. That will not help the innocent victims. That will not stop the deaths, the terror and the violence. The two-state solution is still worth hoping for and still worth fighting for. We need to see every avenue of engagement with Israel and the international community to achieve that outcome and defend that outcome. World leaders must redouble their efforts to forge a path to a sustainable and lasting peace, so that future generations of innocent men, women and children are not consigned to the horrors and violence that we have seen in recent months. John Mason is to be followed by Pauline McNeill up to four minutes. Thank you very much, and I thank Ivan McKee for bringing this debate today. The situation that we see in Israel and Gaza is incredibly sad. It is also very long running, certainly since well before 1948, when you could say that the present problem started. Clearly, antisemitism is not the same as valid criticism of Israel, but neither are the two completely distinct and unconnected. Most of the Jews that I know in Scotland and in England as well have family and friends in Israel. It is the only Jewish state in the world, and according to the Bible is the land which God gave his chosen people. Having said that, it does not mean that we cannot criticise the Jews or Israel. God himself is hugely critical of his people in much of the scriptures, not least when he punished them by exiling them to Babylon and elsewhere. So it is not antisemitic for some to say that the present Israeli offensive has been over the top and has possibly crossed the line from defence to revenge. At the same time, we need to be balanced in our approach. For example, to say that we must not sell arms to Israel but that it is okay to sell arms to Saudi Arabia or others with a much worse human rights record is somewhat inconsistent. It is very difficult to ascertain what all the facts are around what has been happening in Gaza. The number of deaths is one issue. Of the Palestinians killed, I gather that Hamas claims that 6,000 have been military, whereas Israel claims that 12,000 were Hamas fighters. All such figures are very difficult to verify when both sides have a fairly unclear line between who is military and who is civilian. It seems that the number of civilian deaths in Gaza has been greater because Hamas deliberately built tunnels for military purposes underneath hospitals and residential areas. On that point, where did all the resources come from for those tunnels? Perhaps the situation for ordinary people in Gaza would be better today if more resources had gone into civilian infrastructure rather than being diverted for military purposes. I think that the United Nations, and particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, have some responsibility in that regard. Going forward, I think that we need a more neutral agency than UNRWA, helping the people of Gaza to rebuild. Where are we going? In the short term, we want the fighting to cease and that has to be linked to release of the hostages or, sadly, perhaps their bodies, and both sides need to agree to ceasing fire. But in the longer term, we need serious peace talks and negotiations. That requires all sides to recognise the other's right to exist. We should remember that it is Iran and Hamas who openly declare that they want Israel wiped off the face of the map. I partly blame the international community for not pushing harder for peace talks over the years. Both Israel and Palestine are relatively small entities in world terms, and much larger players such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran have a key part to play in this, too. They can put pressure on their respective sides to get to the table and negotiate. There should be no preconditions on borders or anything else, only an acceptance of the other side's right to exist should be required. But having said that the bigger countries have a part to play, we should remember the example of Norway, who hosted peace talks in the early 1990s. I have to say that I would like to see both the United Kingdom and Scotland playing that role as peacemakers. That means not cheering on either side but building relationships with both sides and hopefully being trusted by both sides. To finish on a more personal note, I was in London just after New Year and attended a Jewish synagogue one Friday evening. There were only about 15 to 20 people there, but they had to have three security guards on duty. What happens in Israel and Gaza does affect us here, too, so let us all commit to being as even-handed as we can be and to seek to be peacemakers as much as we can be. Thanks to Ivan McKee for bringing this important debate so timely. Apologies to the Presiding Officer and to the chamber. I set a meeting last November that I was unavoidably half to cheer. I cannot say right to the very end. I think those who know me know that if it was not for that, I would be here to the end, so I apologise sincerely. As we all speak today, Israel launches more airstrikes in Rafa. Sadly, there will be even more deaths than the 30,000 civilians so far, but up to 100,000 injured, 10,000 children with no functioning hospitals and no services to protect them. No emergency services to rescue people from under the rubble. Gazans go to sleep at night knowing that their relatives are buried under the rubble and may still be alive. 1.7 million people displaced more than once, and some of them were already refugees from 1948 and 1967, but now many have been displaced five, six, seven times. 1.7 million people are at the speed of the bombs, the unprecedented scale of the military operation, the indiscriminate nature of the bombs that strike Gazans, including white phosphorus. It's like nothing we have witnessed in any recent modern war. Those who have followed the horrible and horrific examples of what has happened in Gaza couldn't have failed to notice the story. The story is reported by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of Hind, a young girl who died alone, but while she had to call emergency services her last hours in the car, where she was surrounded by the dead bodies of her relatives, reports of a tank coming towards her. A few days later, we found out that she was dead. The strategy led bare because the Israeli hostages who must be released and must be protected are not even a priority for Netanyahu, and that's clear by the statement that he has made. Members of his Government have also said that there is no such thing as an innocent Palestinian, and other more extreme than that have said that we were the clear gaza then they want to see more settlements and the Palestinians removed. It's about time that we stood up and said that the dehumanisation of the Palestinian population, the denial of their rights and their existence, is not tolerable. They can't even leave Gaza. Most of the members who have participated in this debate before know that they've been underblocked for 17 years. Really, the world has a lot to answer for, actually. I don't really have time, unfortunately. Dr Gillian Harris, who, like many brave doctors, have served in Gaza recently, reports that they expect to see young men in emergency services, but what they're seeing is children. That's because more than 50 per cent of the population in Gaza are under the age of 18. Whilst that happens, there is still more violence in the West Bank. You won't see so much of it because you're watching what's happening in Gaza. The violence is quite horrific. Settlers who are Israeli illegal people in the occupied territories are stealing Palestinian homes, but they're also being protected by the Israeli army to do so. I believe that Palestine is the moral question of our time and not just to stand up for a ceasefire now, because, as Ivan Key said in his opening speech, 75 years since the Palestinians were promised a state of their own, 56 years of illegal occupation. Over 100 countries recognise Palestine now. You do need to conclude. It's not out of step. Where you stand on this question matters. The hopes and dreams of Israelis and Palestinians depend on it. I would like to thank Ivan Key for bringing this debate to the chamber. It's fair to say that Ivan has always been a champion of this issue, prior to the current crisis that is unfolding. On 21 November last year, I stood in this chamber and fully condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the following collective punishment of the Palestinian people by Israel. I also repeat that all hostages must be released. I stand by these comments and fully condemn violence in all its forms. But what has happened since we last debated this issue in here should shock and shame is all. Over 30,000 in Palestine dead, 12,300 plus children, 8,400 plus women. That's children, women and innocent civilians. That's not Hamas terrorist. Hospitals and schools have been hit hard and we've all seen the scenes in the TV, absolutely shocking. What could possibly be the justification for the continuation of this slaughter? Some suggest that while Hamas still exists, this is justified. I am fully of the opinion that it is not. These are innocent people and many, as we've said, are children. So let me be clear to those people who believe this. It is and cannot be a justification. As I've heard from Ivan McKee and others, Jewish voices are increasing in the condemnation of these actions by Israel. I'm pleased that Ivan McKee's motion mentions the ruling by the international court of justice and I hope that all Governments of the world acknowledge that. The scenes in Rafa, as Pauline McNeill mentioned, are heartbreaking, as many people who have fled to this area are now facing the threat of continuing attacks here. It's actually just unthinkable what the people of Palestine and Gaza must be feeling. Since ceasefire now is the only option, why do some politicians, as we noticed in Westminster yesterday, still reluctant not to call for a ceasefire? We don't need to worry about other actors to call for the end of slaughter of innocent civilians. As a friend said to me recently, and I quote, this was literally anywhere else in the world it would not be tolerated. He's right because there's plenty of examples that Ukraine, for example, what we have done is right and we should be very proud of our stance on Ukraine and the Ukrainians that now call Scotland their home and couldn't make any encote bridge. I'm personally very proud of that. Of course there are other examples too of the UK and Scotland taking an international stance on war, but it seems to me that the children and people of Gaza are second-class citizens to this UK Government and other Governments of the world. What do we tell our kids about what we've done at this point in history? Pauline McNeill said it much better. This is a pivotal moment. An issue of all our generation is absolutely shocking in our kids, our young people and everybody else are watching the scenes unfolding on the TV. What are we doing? What are politicians doing? There must be a ceasefire now. Fighting must end on all sides. A two-state solution and the recognition of the state of Palestine must be found. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Like colleagues, I want to thank Ivan McKee for having brought this debate and to thank Cokab Stewart for the work that she did on this before her appointment as a minister. I want to start by congratulating those who peacefully protested outside this building last night and those who took direct action to try to obstruct the arrival of Israel's arms dealers to this nation's parliament, whilst the nation of Israel and the military forces armed by those companies conducts a campaign of genocide in Gaza. The real shame at this building last night was that an event, a wine reception for arms dealers, went ahead during a genocide. Is there any doubt now that this is a genocide? More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 12,500 children. We know that number is an undercount, because we know that the reality is that the vast majority of those reported as missing are dead under the rubble. That is why they are unaccounted for. I want to read for a moment from an article in the Los Angeles Times by Irfan Galleria who is an American surgeon who spent time in Gaza in recent weeks. He said, I stopped keeping track of how many new orphans I had operated on. After surgery, they would be filed somewhere in the hospital. I am unsure of who will take care of them or how they will survive. On one occasion, a handful of children all about ages 5 to 8 were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head. Those families were returning to their homes in Hanunus about two and a half miles away from the hospital after Israeli tanks had withdrawn, but the snipers apparently stayed behind. None of those children survived. The Hamas attack on 7 October was horrific. It was evil. It was unjustifiable. Members will remember that a lot of attention was paid not to the very real stories of horror that day but, in the days after, a lot of attention was paid to a false story of 40 babies being murdered in one cabout. I have to note that so many of the same news organisations who reported that story are silent about the actual massacre, the verified massacre of children taking place in Gaza, the deliberate slaughter and execution of toddlers, of babies, even when it is recorded on video. Children are having their limbs amputated. Women are giving birth by sea section without anesthetic because Israel is blocking medical supplies from getting in. Gazans are being collectively punished and that is a war crime. We all know that that is a war crime. The shameful events at Westminster last night put this whole country to shame because one party refused to acknowledge that the use of the word collective punishment was appropriate. It attempts to bully and threaten the Speaker of the House of Commons to derail a ceasefire debate and put the UK to shame. However, while that farce was taking place, Israel was still bombing Rafa, a refugee camp of one and a half million innocent people. The question was asked why does the UK's position matter? Why do debates like in the Commons last night are here today matter? What matters is because the UK arms Israel, the UK gives political support to Israel, the UK blocks Israel being held to account at the United Nations. No one looks back at the international campaign against apartheid in South Africa and claims that it was of no consequence and nobody will look back at the international campaign of solidarity with people of Palestine and say the same thing. We can make a direct impact here in Scotland. Rather than invite arms dealers in for wine receptions, we should divest all public funds, including pension funds, from them. We should ban every company that can plus it in the occupation from receiving a public grant or a contract. The First Minister agreed to that in principle in December. We need to see progress on that. We need to see an immediate and permanent ceasefire. We need the release of all hostages, Israeli and Palestinian hostages, including the children held in Israel's jails. We need Israel to withdraw to its 1967 borders and to the siege of Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank. That is what we need for a lasting peace. Since the member's business motion was tabled, the situation in Gaza has worsened significantly. The daily death rate in Gaza is higher than any other major 21st century conflict. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 12,300 children, and 69,000 have been injured since the 7th October 2023. Neither of these numbers include the thousands still missing under the rebel and collapse buildings. The Israeli air forces have reported that it has struck 30,000 of what it has identified as Hamas targets in Gaza since its offensive began. These strikes have also completely destroyed 70,000 housing units and damaged 290,000 more. 392 education facilities, 11 bakeries, 123 ambulances, three churches and 184 mosques have been reported to have been completely or partially destroyed. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have reported that not a single hospital in the Gaza Strip is fully functioning. As a result of this lack of functioning healthcare, there are over 200,000 cases of acute respiratory infections and over 500,000 cases of communicable diseases recorded. There is now a seriously insufficient supply of food, proper sanitation and clean water. Just last last month the IPC warned the serious food security concerns. 2.2 million people are now at the imminent risk of famine with 378,000 of them designated Phase 5, demonstrating extreme lack of food starvation and exhaustion of coping capabilities. Israel, of course, has a right to protect its citizens, but it also has the responsibility to abide by the international law and to minimise civilian casualties. The situation in Gaza has now gone far beyond our justifiable response following the 7th October attacks. Collective punishment of any civilian is never the answer. Israel's war cabinet have now warned that the remaining hostages are not released by the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. It will burden its offensive in southern Gaza and push into the city of Rafa. The Rafa crossing is Egypt's remains one of the only possible routes out of Gaza. Rafa is currently home to over a million of Gaza civilians who have been displaced and have fled there to seek shelter. If this ground invasion takes place, the debt toll could be unimaginable. If this ground invasion takes place, the debt toll could be unimaginable. An immediate and lasting ceasefire is now imperative. This means diplomatic mediation to ensure lasting agreement and permanent two-state solution and to rocket fire both in and out of Gaza. Immediate, immediate an aid into Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages. The fighting must stop now before we are looking at the complete inhibition of Gaza and the civilian ceasefire now. Marie McNair, to be followed by Richard Leonard, up to four minutes, Ms McNair. We need an immediate ceasefire and an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. We, as a forward-thinking and compassionate nation, cannot stand by when obvious genocide happens. The killing of innocent civilians and the brutal slaughter of children must end. The civilian death toll, which stands at around 30,000 people in Gaza, over 1,000 people in Israel and more than 300 in the west bank, is rising daily. The only way to end the suffering is an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages and those detained without charge. The suffering faced by the people of Gaza has been weighing on the hearts and minds of so many across the country. Andrew Gilmar, the UN assistant secretary general for human rights from 2016 to 2019, said just two days ago that Israel's onslaught against Gaza is probably the highest kill rate of any military killing anywhere since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. I have joined thousands on the streets to protest and call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment and an end to illegal occupation. I am glad to see that, since this, and with the pressure from the SNP, the new Labour Party has back called for a ceasefire, at least of a sort. External pressure does more for Labour at the moment than enshrined in internal principles. The Tories and the Labour Party made a devastating mistake opposing a ceasefire in November. Lives have been lost and the death toll has since risen enormously. Their failure to back this earlier will be remembered in the history books with their name on it. New Labour's position yesterday in Westminster was appalling. The new Labour cabal came together to deny a motion that called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Newsnight journalist Nicholas Watt said that the common speaker was left in no doubt that new Labour would bring him down after the general election unless he allowed a new Labour weak amendment on Gaza. Obviously, the new Labour junior deputy speaker, Rosie Winterton, was then deployed to defend the indefensible. Like most Labour stitch-ups, it ended in a disaster and humiliation, but it is still cheered on by some laps commonestas in this Parliament who want to be chummed with the arms industry that provides weapons to Israel. Most of us here have never experienced anything close to the level of horror in Gaza, so what has really stuck with me were the comments from Dr Salem Gady. Dr Gady grew up in Gaza and his family there, and now works as a consultant pediatrician at Inverness. When he was discussing his family, he said that the stories of him end suffering. I hear from them every day that every part of their life turns into an astonishing amount of suffering. There is nothing in their life that you could consider a life actually. Water is contaminated and they eat one meal a day. The number of children killed is around 12,000 to 14,000. Do you know how many children there are in Inverness? 14,000. Imagine we, the Scottish people, wake up one day and all the children in Inverness have been killed. This is what happened to the children in Gaza. Stop enough is enough. Stop this genocide, please. Those comments are terrifying. This perpetual cycle of violence has been on-going for far too long. We either call it for the killing to end or sit by and let the death toll escalate. History will judge us all on this and we need an immediate ceasefire and an end to the collective punishment. Thank you. I now call Richard Leonard to be followed by Bill Kidd up to four minutes, Mr Leonard. I thank Ivan McKee for leading this debate. May I say to Marie McNair that we are here with power borrowed from the people. We are here with a chance to make a difference, to do the right thing, to do the right thing by humanity, because what we are debating today is a profoundly moral question. It is not an electoral calculation, it is a profoundly moral question, which is also why I say to the Government that you cannot vote in favour of a ceasefire and condemn collective punishment and continue to fund those firms in Scotland which are arming the Israeli Government. International law must apply to all. Supplying arms to a country in breach of international law is itself a breach of international law. Why is it so easy to supply a state with weapons but so difficult to supply starving children with food and injured people with medicines? It is my deepest conviction that all that the people of Israel and Palestine want is the chance to live in peace. In the horror of this war, all that the people of Gaza want is to live. They want their children to live and they want to live free. We condemn the action of Hamas on 7 October. I do not support Hamas, I want peace, I want the return of all hostages and when we call for a ceasefire, we are calling for a ceasefire on both sides. History did not start on 7 October. The story of the Palestinian people is a story of injustice, of forced dispossession, of forced displacement, of forced dispersal, of forced disinheritance. Today, once again, innocent people, including thousands upon thousands of children, are being punished for a crime that they did not commit. There is a deep revulsion against what is happening, the terror of what is happening, the criminality of what is happening, the morality of the slaughter of innocents, including children, which is why it would be a betrayal to remain silent, which is why the calls we have heard since October for pauses or de-escalation are tantamount to indecision at best, to compliance with the reign of violence that has so far killed 30,000 people, 40% of them children at worst. As the Palestinian people are once again being told to flee their homes, we should heed the words of the Palestinian poet Mahmood Dawish who wrote, where should we go after the last frontiers? Where should the birds fly after the last sky? To speak out as a member of this parliament is not an act of protest but the exercise of power. It is to show political and moral leadership. It is to stand up for hope in place of fear. It is to be realistic because it is to be realistic to want to change from this existing reality to a new one. That is why many of us are here. That is what I am here to support, justice for humanity and end to the illegal occupation, freedom for Palestine, the triumph of peace over war. Cease fire now. Thank you. I now call Bill Kitt to be followed by Carol Mawkin up to three minutes, Mr Kitt. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Last November I put on record my condemnation of the horrific inhumane terrorist attack on Israelis carried out by Hamas on the 7th of October. Today, Presiding Officer, I reiterate this condemnation, and I add to this my condemnation of the horrific inhumane actions we have since witnessed unfold on the innocent civilian population of Gaza. As I said in November, humanity defines human beings collectively, therefore collective punishment is an act of inhumanity. We do not get to pick and choose which acts are humane or inhumane. If we wish to condemn one act of inhumanity, we must condemn all acts of inhumanity to do otherwise as simply to debase ourselves as human beings. Since then, the situation has only worsened and the suffering has only intensified. Over 29,000 Palestinians dead and over 66,000 injured. Figures that may seem clinical to some are the urges to look beyond mere figures. Over two thirds of those killed are women and children. Over 200 a day, families torn apart. Of those injured, there are children traumatised for life, limbs amputated without pain relief, to be left screaming in the darkness for hours without end. We must condemn this too. We must speak as one when it comes to ending this inhumanity. Yesterday, we witnessed the House of Commons descend into chaos when debating the issue. Today, please, let's speak with one voice. A voice that echoes and amplifies the overwhelming view of the international community, of the world. That voice says enough is enough. The time is for a comprehensive ceasefire. Incredible peace process is now. Let's speak with one voice for those suffering but let's not forget where we are a voice for our constituents too and it saddens me to listen to young people are affected by what they hear and see happening in Gaza but feel powerless and inexpert and unable to speak out on the mental distress that causes them. In this respect, education as to the history and to the seeds of today's conflicts are invaluable. In reading over the material for this debate, prepared by Spice, who I think, I was happy to see an overview of the history of this land front and centre. It gives us context, it gives us knowledge, it gives us understanding. Today, as new reports show that around 90 per cent of Gaza's children under two are malnourished or worse and starvation looms for many more. The relentless bombing continues day and night and the spectre of a ground invasion of Rafa with over one and a half million Palestinians sheltering in fear for their lives seems like little hope. However, let's speak as one and know for hope for tomorrow. I thank Ivan McKee for bringing this vital debate to the chamber, his work in this area and his comments. Ken comments on the work that we have done across the benches together. When all around us is war and the lust for war, it is important to be clear that we in this Parliament stand for peace. I do not need to reiterate the sheer number of needless deaths in this conflict or the plight of people taking hostage or tortured. In my contribution, I would like to, as I have done before, raise a terrifying reality that is often left unmentioned by the media. The disgraceful number of women who have lost children they are carrying are shortly after birth and, in many cases, simply prevented from having access to the necessities of childbirth that is pregnant women. There are about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and 40 per cent of those pregnancies have been classed as high risk. 180 women still give birth daily, can you imagine? Despite that, they must carry a child exposed to constant bombing and try to give it adequate nutrition in a country that has been starved to death. Can any of us even begin to imagine what this is like? To not have clean water to hydrate yourself or to clean and wash your newborn baby? I note, as was noted by the International Court of Justice in the recent order that, under international law, this is illegal and Israel must stop doing so. Yet, since that ruling in January, reports of exactly the same actions have come forward, and I cannot adequately explain how I feel about this. How must the families feel that they must be absolutely terrified? To carry a child can be a worrisome experience at the best of times, but in a war zone. To realise that no one is coming to help you, it is utterly unimaginable. As the citizen of one of the most powerful countries in the world, I feel desperately ashamed that weapons that are funded from the UK and no doubt manufactured in Scotland have been used to perpetuate this. There is no amount of GDP that is worth being involved in this. As I close, I want to be clear that the time for peace came long ago. This has gone well past the point of self-defect defense. The leadership of Hamas and Israel are engaged in a fatal battle to the death that will spill further across the region, which is, of course, a worry. The violence must stop. We must not remain silent. We must have an immediate ceasefire. Can I thank the chamber for the opportunity to speak and raise those voices and say that I am glad that, on the whole, we have had a constructive tone in the chamber today? Thank you very much. I would like to thank Ivan McKee for securing this debate. The conflict in Gaza is a human tragedy and it is important that this Parliament's voice is heard. The Scottish Government has been consistent in condemning the abhorrent terrorist actions of Hamas, whose vile and merciless attacks on 7 October represented the single worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust and in calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire by all sides in Israel and Gaza. A ceasefire is the only way that we can halt the catastrophic human suffering in Gaza for hostages to be released. I repeat the Scottish Government's demands for Hamas to release immediately and unconditionally all hostages and to cease all missile attacks against Israel. Hamas can have no future in Gaza, but the cycle of violence must end. The bombs and rockets must stop. Humanitarian and medical facilities must be protected and civilians must be given unrestricted access to the basic necessities of life wherever they are. Israel, like any other country, has the right to protect itself and its citizens from terror. In exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must abide by international humanitarian law. The First Minister has urged the UK Government that the time has come to speak out forcefully and make it clear that Israel's military action has gone way beyond a legitimate response to the appalling attacks of 7 October. The Scottish Government respects international norms and the rule of law. It is therefore correct that any potential breach of international law, including the crime of genocide, should be investigated by the appropriate authorities and international bodies. The interim ruling of the International Court of Justice on 26 July was clear. The killing and destruction in Gaza must stop. Urgent humanitarian assistance must be provided to prevent more suffering and hostages must be released immediately. The Scottish Government's position is consistent with the vast majority of the international community. The United Nations General Assembly voted in late October for a resolution that demanded an immediate, durable, sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities. In December, a much larger majority of the General Assembly voted for another resolution that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The immediate and unconditional release of all hostages as well as ensuring humanitarian access. Just last week, the Prime Minister of our Commonwealth partners, Australia and New Zealand in Canada, issued a rare joint statement calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for hostages to be released. That statement was inspired by increasing indications that Israel is planning a full-scale assault against Rafa, which, until the last few weeks, has been a relatively safe place for displaced Gazans as this brutal conflict has progressed. The President of the United States himself has reportedly urged Prime Minister Netanyahu not to launch a military operation in Rafa without a credible and executable plan to protect civilians. Since then, we have heard the chilling warning from Israeli ministers that such an offensive will take place before Ramadan unless hostages are released without any mention of how civilians, most of whom have lost their homes, are to be protected. I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to the contributions and I would like to say that this has been a respectful and serious debate that has taken part this afternoon. I would like to thank Ian McKee, Pauline McNeill and Richard Leonard, who outlined very effectively the historical context in which the conflict lies and the emotional and heartfelt contributions that they have made. I would also like to say to Jackson Carlaw that I would like to reassure him that, in my opinion, it is a political intervention that will bring this to an end and not a military intervention. Neil Bibby spoke of de-escalation, which I think is essential, and I have called for myself. John Mason was quite correct to point out the international community for not trying harder for peace talks over the years. I would also like to pay tribute to Foysal Choudhury, Pauline McNeill, Carol Mawkin and, among others in the chamber, who have mentioned the devastating impact on human life and birth and death, as well as the infrastructure that is being devastated across the region. I thank Ross Greer for highlighting my own previous work on this and his commitment and the historical context that he pointed out. Several members across the chamber were quite right to highlight that collective punishment is unacceptable of innocent civilians. I would also like to acknowledge Marie McNair, who mentioned marching alongside thousands of people. As have many colleagues in this chamber, the people are on the streets, Presiding Officer. We need to make sure that we are on the right side of history and reflecting for them. In fact, members here have said that we are speaking for our constituents. Bill Kidd, who said quite rightly that we should be in this place speaking with one voice as we are going towards the future that has hope. We must recognise the deep trauma suffered by the Israeli people as a result of the 7 of October attacks. We must also acknowledge that this trauma is felt by the Jewish communities globally, including the Jewish communities here in Scotland. The conflict in the Middle East does not justify racial or religious hatred of any kind. In recent weeks, we have seen a shocking global increase of antisemitism and Islamophobia. I emphasise that there is no place in Scotland for this behaviour and that the Scottish Government is committed to building supportive and safe communities where divisive narratives will not resonate. We will continue to engage closely with our communities across Scotland to provide vital reassurance and ensure that nobody feels marginalised. I thank you for your patience in conclusion, Presiding Officer. I am pleased that the House of Commons has finally agreed to call for an immediate ceasefire, which the Scottish Government has consistently done for months. Presiding Officer, enough is enough. Thank you Minister. That concludes the debate, and I suspend very briefly this meeting of Parliament until 2 pm.