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SvennoJ on 22 September 2025
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Scotland calls for more sanctions on Israel

Scottish First Minister John Swinney has urged the British government to go beyond its recognition of a Palestinian state by imposing sanctions and halting arms sales to Israel.

“This is a historic moment for the people of Palestine, which should have come long ago,” Swinney said while speaking at a ceremony outside the Palestinian Mission in London.

He added that while the UK’s decision was “welcome news”, it was “just the first step towards establishing the two-state solution”.

“I have been clear that the UK’s recognition of the State of Palestine should have been unconditional, but this decision goes some way towards acknowledging the UK’s solemn and historic responsibility towards all peoples of the region,” he said.

Swinney called on the UK government to withdraw from its trade deal with Israel, ban imports from settlements, end defence exports and all military cooperation, and impose sanctions on members of Israel’s security cabinet.

He also urged London to join South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice and facilitate the evacuation of injured children from Gaza for treatment in Scotland.


Recognition of Palestinian statehood ‘just the beginning’: UK MP

British independent MP Shockat Adam says that the UK’s recognition of Palestine’s statehood is “just the beginning” of a process to realising a viable Palestinian state.

“Hopefully it’s a turning point in history,” said Adam, who in October presented a bill in the British parliament calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state. “We must use this as a first step to achieve everything else” required, he said, from a peace process to agreed-upon borders.

He said that supporters of the Palestinian cause in the UK would not allow the British government to treat the recognition as a “tick-box exercise” but would maintain pressure on the government to push for further action required.

“My election in part was because … of what was happening in Gaza,” he said. “There are millions of people out there … and there are parliamentarians on both sides of the house … which will hold this government to account.”

Recognising Palestine comes with obligations under international law

International law scholar Ardi Imseis says countries that have recognised Palestinian statehood now have obligations to respect the political integrity of the State of Palestine under international law.

“All states have an obligation to do nothing to assist Israel in its unlawful presence in the State of Palestine, and so they must do everything they can to change their relationship with Israel,” including bringing to bear the “full raft of sanctions” imposed on a state perpetrating an aggression, he said.

Imseis said the same measures taken against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine would also be warranted in the case of Israel, which the International Court of Justice found to be occupying Palestinian territory unlawfully.

The recognition of Palestinian statehood also confers on it “an inherent right to self-defence to Israel’s illegal presence in its territory”, the legal scholar added.



Recognising Palestine ‘good’, but ‘nowhere near enough’

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris has welcomed moves to recognise Palestine but says far greater action is needed.

In a post on X, Harris, who is also Ireland’s deputy prime minister, said: “It’s good to see more countries recognising Palestinian statehood. It’s important but let’s be clear: it’s nowhere near enough.”

He said he was working at the UN “to seek action”. “What’s needed now is real action to stop the genocide and the famine, words that should never be normalised,” he said.

Ireland, along with Norway and Spain, recognised Palestinian statehood last year.