Ahead of the debate, Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “A fragile ceasefire does not mean an end to the suffering in Gaza. Thousands of people have been killed, entire communities wiped out, and the Israeli blockade continues to limit essential aid. Against this brutal backdrop, it’s utterly indefensible that Scottish taxpayers’ money has flowed to arms companies selling components to Israel, including those used in Israel’s F-35 fighter jets - the same jets which have been relentlessly bombing Gaza.
“The Scottish Government’s humanitarian aid to Gaza and its condemnation of war crimes have shown moral leadership, but they’re morally incoherent with bankrolling the very firms enabling them. Assurances that public funds aren’t used directly for weapons manufacturing don’t wash when the companies themselves are profiting from this humanitarian catastrophe. It’s time for the Scottish Government to end public funding for arms firms fuelling the devastation in Gaza.”
/ENDS
For more information and interviews, please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Media and Communications Adviser, Oxfam Scotland: rlozza1@oxfam.org.uk / 07917738450
