Israel boycott 'loopholes' must close, Scottish Greens tell TNA

The Scottish Greens are calling for companies involved in Israeli settlement activity to be barred from all Scottish Government support, with the party's co-leader telling The New Arab that existing boycott measures contain "loopholes" that need to be closed.

Gillian Mackay told The New Arab ahead of an opposition debate at Holyrood on Wednesday that the Greens wanted practical changes to ensure companies involved in settlement activity or profiting from the repression of Palestinians could no longer receive Scottish Government contracts, grants or other support.

The party is seeking tougher measures to boycott Israel, including excluding companies involved in Israeli settlements from public funding, as it calls on the government to fully implement a boycott amid the ongoing Gaza genocide and rising Israeli military and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Scottish Greens announced that they would propose the measures during the opposition debate, in a bid to force a vote on strengthening the Scottish Government’s existing boycott of Israel.

The Scottish Parliament previously backed a Green-led motion supporting a boycott of Israel and companies deemed complicit in its occupation and military operations in Gaza.

The move made Scotland the first country in the world to back Palestinian civil society calls for a range of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) measures against Israel and companies complicit in crimes against Palestinians.

However, the latest proposals claim that the SNP-led government has failed to fully implement the boycott.

According to the Greens, Wednesday’s motion will call for any company, parent company or subsidiary involved in Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories to be automatically disqualified from public procurement, grants and all other forms of Scottish Government support.

The party also said there had been no legislative changes, as well as no automatic ban on grants or support for companies identified by the UN as being complicit in illegal settlement activity.

The Greens cited Barclays, a company reportedly linked to financing Israel’s military, which has been named as a partner in the Scottish Government’s bond scheme.

Mackay said the Greens wanted to close "loopholes" despite the government’s existing commitment to BDS measures against Israel.

She said the Greens were calling for practical changes if the motion passes, including "to ensure that companies complicit in apartheid and genocide are no longer receiving government support of any kind."

"These companies are profiting from repression and human rights abuses and helping to fuel further atrocities," Mackay added.

"If a company is involved in settlement activity or profiting from the repression of Palestinians, it should not be eligible for Scottish Government contracts, grants or other support."

Mackay said the party hoped the move "will be a turning point", despite pledges from the government that it would comply with BDS conditions.

She urged the Scottish Government to "enforce the rules they already voted for."

"Public money should not be used to help companies who are profiting from illegal Israeli settlements or genocide," she told The New Arab.

The Scottish Greens have previously urged First Minister John Swinney to end contracts with companies identified by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk as being involved in Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

The calls in Scotland come amid a surge in violence across the occupied Palestinian territory since the outbreak of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023.

The remarks also come following the UK government, led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, announcing a ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements and measures targeting those who facilitate settlement expansion, including individuals and companies.