Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf says Scotland is willing to be the first country in the UK to welcome Palestinian refugees fleeing the war in Gaza. “In the past, people in Scotland and across the UK have opened our hearts and our homes to welcome those from Syria, Ukraine, and many other countries. We must do so again,” he announced at the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) conference on Tuesday, 17th October.
On closer inspection, however, Yousaf’s offer was not all that it seemed. He was really demanding that the UK government in Westminster, which retains sovereignty on such matters, create ‘a refugee resettlement scheme’ for Gazans who want to leave. “When they do so,” he declared, “Scotland is willing to be the first country in the UK to offer safety and sanctuary to those who caught up in those terrible attacks.”
In other words, Scotland will do nothing until the UK government acts first. Since there seems no prospect of the Conservative administration in Westminster inviting refugees from Hamas-dominated Gaza into Britain, Yousaf’s bold words were effectively empty.
Yousaf’s speech sounded to many like the latest example of the SNP striking progressive-sounding poses to try to differentiate itself from England and the UK Tory government. The First Minister himself hinted at this political strategy in his conference speech, when he accused Tory home secretary Suella Braverman of using ‘dog-whistle language’ to appeal to extremist voters by stoking fears of mass migration.
When I hear that dog-whistle language, it makes me shudder. It makes me resolve to work even harder for independence – so that Scotland’s immigration policies are decided here in Scotland – never ever again by extremist Westminster politicians.
Yousaf – the son of Pakistani-Punjabi migrants and the first Muslim head of government on Europe – has made little secret of where his sympathies lie in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has talked about how his wife’s Palestinian father and Scottish mother are stuck in Gaza, having gone to visit relatives just before the war broke out. “If the border is not reopened, and there is no way out, people will die … My parents (in law)—I don’t think I will see them again,” he told Reuters.
While Yousaf has said that Israel has a right to defend itself, he believes the country is imposing an “illegal form of collective punishment.”. He has also rebuked the British government for giving robust support to Israel immediately after the murderous attack by Hamas, without questioning its response, claiming that the UK does not value Israeli and Palestinian lives equally.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Israel on Thursday, October 19th, and pledged to stand with Israel in its “darkest hour.” “We will stand with you in solidarity;, we will stand with your people. And we also want you to win,” he said.
In response to the Scottish First Minister calling on the UK government to create a refugee resettlement scheme for refugees from Gaza, Downing Street said it was “not aware of the SNP approaching the Government formally.” The UK Government’s “first focus” was on reopening the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to help Palestinians leave the territory.
