Activists occupy roof of Scottish Parliament to condemn weak stance on Gaza, demand sanctions

Activists from the We Are All Hana Shalabi network today scaled and occupied the roof of the Scottish Parliament to protest the Scottish government’s failure to condemn Israel’s attack on Gaza and to demand sanctions be imposed on Israel.

The campaigners scaled the parliament roof at about 11:30am this morning and were on top of the £414 million ($660 million) building for more than two hours before being removed by police. All of the participants were arrested and are still in police custody at the time of writing.

Before taking office, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond described Israel’s attack on the Mavi Marmara as an “atrocity on the high seas” and argued that “you can’t have normal relationships if you believe another country has been involved in what Israel has been involved in.” The action was timed to coincide with Salmond’s weekly question and answer appearance before the parliament.

Although most foreign policy issues are still controlled by the UK government in Westminster, activists point out that there is a great deal more that the Scottish government could be doing to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people. The Palestine solidarity movement is very well supported in Scotland and an Israeli diplomat recently told Haaretz that ”every appearance by an official Israeli representative in Scotland is like a visit to enemy territory.”

The We Are All Hana Shalabi network, which formed to organize student and youth solidarity with the mass Palestinian prisoner hunger strike that took place earlier this year, is named after the Palestinian prisoner who was freed after a 43 day hunger strike. The network is one of the organizers of a march through Glasgow taking place on Sunday. more

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