Humza Yousaf: UK must âstop arms sales to Israelâ
Scotlandâs First Minister Humza Yousaf says arming Israel makes UK âcomplicit in the killing of innocent peopleâ
The First Minister of Scotland has told HARDtalk that âthe UK Government has to stop arms sales to Israelâ because otherwise it will be âcomplicit in the killing of innocent peopleâ.
Humza Yousaf described the situation facing his wifeâs family in Gaza as âbeyond the worst catastrophe that any of us could imagineâ. Mr Yousaf was one of the first UK leaders to call for an immediate ceasefire, but this is the first time he has warned of the UK being âcomplicitâ in the actions of Israelâs government.
Speaking to Stephen Sackur, Mr Yousaf said, âthe evidence that we've seen certainly suggests that war crimes have been committedâ. He cited âaid workers killed by an Israeli strikeâ, referring to the attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy which the Israel Defense Forces called a âgrave accidentâ. The First Minister described Israelâs government as one which has âbombed schools, bombed refugee camps, bombed UN facilitiesâ.
Humza Yousaf is the first Muslim leader of a country in Western Europe. He condemned the âdisgraceful terrorist attack by Hamasâ on October 7th and insisted that the group âshould be held to accountâ for the âatrocious crimesâ. But Israel, the First Minister said, âhas gone beyond a legitimate responseâ. Warning of the âcollective punishmentâ of the people in Gaza, Mr Yousaf said, âyou cannot hold 2.2 million people responsible and use starvation, frankly, as a weapon of warâ.