JOHN SWINNEY launched a Scottish government boycott of Israel today as Holyrood prepared to back recognition of the Palestinian state.

Speaking as the Palestinian flag flew over the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister said: “Many Jewish organisations and individuals have condemned the assault on Gaza.

“Their calls remind us that to speak out against mass violence is not anti-semitism, it is deeply human. In fact, to speak out is our moral and legal duty.”

Mr Swinney went on to argue that the “prima facie case of genocide in Gaza” meant members of the government were compelled, not only under the ministerial code but by international law, to cut ties with Israel and end the long-criticised practice of funnelling cash to arms companies through Scottish Enterprise. 

He said: “Previously, we have provided business grants and investment support to companies involved in the design, production, supply and support for military equipment, technologies and services.

“We do so because we recognise that defending our country, defending our continent, is a duty of government.

“In recognition of that changed international landscape, the Scottish government will lift the restriction that we have applied on the use of support for the production of munitions, but in the face of genocide, there can be no business as usual.

“We will pause new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country — that will include Israel.”

The decision covers all devolved public bodies, from the Scottish government to the Scottish National Investment Bank and the enterprise agencies, with funding for apprenticeships at arms manufacturers trading with Israel continuing only so that existing training can be completed.

Mr Swinney went on to offer Scottish NHS treatment for 20 children from Gaza this autumn and funding for a rapid deployment hospital to help meet desperate medical needs in the devastated Palestinian territory itself.

Supporting the measures, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar responded: “The situation in Gaza is beyond intolerable — the deliberate starvation of children, the killing of innocent civilians trying to access aid, the collective punishment of a population with tens of thousands killed.”

Branding Hamas “terrorists” and saying he was sure “[Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal under international law,” Mr Sarwar added: “The illegal occupation and genocide must end now.”