Following up on our earlier reporting, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has further pressed the UK government to offer Gazan non-combatants refuge on its shores
“I am calling on the UK Government to take two urgent steps. Firstly, they should immediately begin work on the creation of a refugee resettlement scheme for those in Gaza who want to and are able to leave. And when they do so, Scotland is willing to be the first country in the UK to offer safety and sanctuary to those caught up in these terrible attacks,” Yousaf said.
Delivering his inaugural speech at the Scottish National Party conference he stressed Scotland and the UK must again open “our hearts and our homes” to innocent casualties of war, referencing Syria, Ukraine, and other countries. Yousaf himself has family trapped in Gaza, his wife’s parents having travelled there in the days before 7 October to visit relatives.
“There are currently around one million people displaced within the Gaza strip – I am therefore today calling on the international community to commit to a worldwide refugee programme for the people of Gaza,” he continued.
GazaPassage is working to ensure nations like the United Kingdom (of which Scotland is part) in this case, and other nations around the world help non-combatants leave Gaza for humanitarian purposes.
He called for the hostages held by HAMAS to be released among other humanitarian causes.
To our knowledge, Yousaf has not publicised any response he may or may not have had from the UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly on the matter, having first put it to him last week when Cleverly was in Israel.
Cleverly ignored Yousaf’s calls when posting yesterday.
