The Scottish Parliament has voted to impose an immediate and total boycott of Israel and companies linked to its military campaign in Gaza, underscoring a rare parliamentary stand in Europe against the ongoing war.

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The motion, introduced by the Scottish Green Party, was approved with 62 votes in favor and 31 against. Many Labour and Liberal Democrat members abstained, while the Scottish Conservatives opposed it. The resolution calls on both the Scottish and UK governments to adopt boycotts, divestment strategies and sanctions targeting Israel and businesses deemed complicit in its actions.

The measure was supported by the Scottish Greens and the Scottish National Party (SNP), and included an amendment from External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson calling for recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie, who tabled the motion, said he hoped the vote would influence broader European debate. “Palestinians are starving and being massacred daily as part of a campaign of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing. It is our duty to act,” he told The National.

First Minister John Swinney pledged concrete steps alongside the boycott, announcing that Scotland will block public funding to companies supplying arms to Israel. He also committed £400,000 to the “Gaza HOPES Field Preparation Center” in Scotland, to support the establishment of a rapid-deployment field hospital for Gaza.

“We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions,” Swinney said. “The world cannot wait for a definitive judicial ruling to act. A genocide is taking place, and recognizing that reality comes with the responsibility to act. The people of Scotland expect no less.”

Following the vote, the Palestinian flag was raised outside St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh in a symbolic act of solidarity.

Since October 2023, Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed 64,231 Palestinians and injured 161,583, the majority women and children, according to figures cited in the debate.

By adopting a full boycott and pledging humanitarian support, Scotland has placed itself among the few European governments taking direct political action against Israel’s war in Gaza.

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