By Rachel Amery

Copyright scotsman

John Swinney says the UK Government must go further to support the people of Gaza after declaring it will formally recognise a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make a statement on Sunday afternoon to announce the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state. This comes after the Prime Minister said the UK would shift its position if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza back in July. The First Minister says this is a “historic moment”, but has set out a number of demands to push the Prime Minister to go further in his support for Palestine. This includes withdrawing from the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement after the Israeli Government banned the import of goods produced in Israeli settlements in Palestine. He is also calling on the Prime Minister to ensure his strategic defence review does not support Israel, end all defence exports to Israel, and end all military cooperation with Israel until the war in Gaza ends. Mr Swinney also says there should be tougher sanctions on those complicit in illegal settlements, including the Israeli security cabinet. The SNP leader also wants to see the UK Government join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice to try and implement arrest warrants. Get daily political analysis – subscribe for free to The Steamie He said: “The recognition of a Palestinian state is a historic moment which should have come long ago. I welcome this long awaited recognition but stress that it must not be conditional and it must be backed by sanctions against Israel. “In addition to the recognition of the state of Palestine, Israel must agree to a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely to address the starvation being faced in Gaza. “A two-state solution is the only way that the Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace, prosperity and security.” The First Minister is due to travel to an event in London tomorrow which will officially mark the recognition of a Palestinian state. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed this shift imposition earlier this month. The group’s UK representative Husam Zomlot told BBC Sundays with Laura Kuenssberg the move would “end the denial of our existence” and said: “The British people should celebrate today, when history is being corrected, when wrongs are being righted.” He added: “The question is never why should the UK recognise the state of Palestine – the question is why didn’t the UK recognise the state of Palestine all along? “Recognition is not a gift, it’s not a favour, it’s an inalienable right.” Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “Will this feed children? No, it won’t, that’s down to humanitarian aid. Will it free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire. “Buit does this mean that you get, or hold out for, that two-state solution and stand by the Palestinian cause being a just cause? That was the determination that I and the Prime Minister made at the end of July.” He said the timing of the announcement was “based on what’s happening on the ground”, and cited the E1 settlement project (which would cut off the West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in two) and the recent Israeli strike on Qatar. The news has been welcomed by the Scottish Greens, but again added more needs to be done. Patrick Harvie MSP said: “This is a welcome and long overdue change, but it is nowhere near enough and it does nothing to remove Starmer’s complicity in the atrocities that are being inflicted. “International recognition must be only the first step. What is urgently needed is an end to the genocide. “UK made weapons are being used in some of the worst war crimes of this century while UK forces have been training with Israel’s apartheid army. It was only a matter of days ago that Israel’s president was welcomed into Downing Street. “Keir Starmer and his colleagues cannot say that they weren’t aware of the grotesque scale of the crisis that they have chosen to enable. We have all witnessed it on our screens and seen the horrifying reports from the UN and other experts. “He could have used his influence to help in putting a stop to it, but instead he backed Israel’s far right government while it cut off aid and starved Palestinians.”