Scotland’s Betrayal Signals Support for Terrorism
In a brazen display of virtue-signalling that reeks of far-left pandering, the Scottish Government under First Minister John Swinney has raised the Palestinian flag over key buildings, including St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh and Victoria Quay. This symbolic act, timed for 3 September 2025, coincided with an announcement to pause all new public funding to arms companies supplying Israel and to withdraw official support for facilitating trade with the Jewish state. Swinney framed it as solidarity with the “people of Palestine” in the face of what he called “signs of genocide” in Gaza. But let’s call it what it is: a grotesque betrayal of our closest Western ally in the Middle-East, Israel, and a tacit endorsement of the terrorist regime that rules Gaza with an iron fist.
This isn’t just symbolic theatre; it’s a dangerous lurch towards isolating a democracy fighting for its survival against Islamist extremism. While the mainstream media cheers this as “progressive,” RightOfCentre.uk digs deeper to expose how this decision undermines British values, ignores nuanced public opinion, and plays into the hands of those who seek Israel’s destruction.
The Facts Behind the Flag-Waving
On 3 September 2025, Swinney delivered a statement to the Scottish Parliament, condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and UK recognition of a Palestinian state. The Palestinian flag was hoisted outside government headquarters as a one-day gesture of “solidarity with the people of Palestine.” Concurrently, the government announced concrete measures: pausing new grants or subsidies to arms firms whose products reach the Israeli military, and instructing officials to cease promoting or facilitating trade with Israel.
This isn’t a full diplomatic severance—Scotland lacks foreign policy powers under devolution—but it’s as close as Holyrood can get to a boycott. Swinney urged the UK Government to follow suit by suspending the UK-Israel free trade agreement and backing International Criminal Court warrants against Israeli leaders. He cited UN reports, including one from Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in March 2024 suggesting grounds for genocide claims, and UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher’s April 2025 statement labelling the conflict as an attempt to “erase a people.”
Yet, these actions gloss over inconvenient truths. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza—designated a terrorist organisation by the UK—have rejected peace offers repeatedly. Hamas’s 7 October 2023 atrocities, which killed over 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages, ignited the current war. Israel’s response, while tragic in civilian losses, targets a regime that uses human shields and diverts aid to build terror tunnels. By flying the Palestinian flag, Scotland isn’t supporting innocent civilians; it’s legitimising a narrative that excuses Hamas’s barbarism.
Not Representative of Scots or Brits: The Polling Evidence
Swinney claims this reflects “the people of Scotland,” but the evidence suggests otherwise. This is classic far-left overreach from an SNP-Green coalition more obsessed with global posturing than fixing Scotland’s crumbling NHS or education system.
Recent polls reveal a divided public, not a mandate for boycotts. A YouGov survey from July 2025 found that only 37% of Britons sympathise most with the Palestinians, compared to 15% with Israelis, 17% with both equally, and a whopping 31% unsure. Sympathy for Palestinians has risen slightly, but it’s far from a majority consensus. On specific actions, 50% view Israel’s Gaza operations as unjustified, yet 19% see them as justified, with many neutral.
In Scotland, a Yonder Consulting poll from May 2025 showed 66% supporting sanctions on Israel and a ban on arms sales, with just 9-10% opposing. UK-wide, 62% back sanctions and 65% an arms ban. However, these figures focus on halting arms amid the conflict, not a blanket boycott or flag-flying endorsement of Palestine. Deeper dives show nuance: An Ipsos poll from October 2024 indicated only 16% of Britons think the UK should actively support Palestinians, versus 8% for Israel, with 55% preferring neutrality. Among over-55s—who form a voting majority—62% favour staying neutral, with 13% backing Israel and just 6% Palestinians.
Younger demographics skew pro-Palestinian (31% of 18-34s want UK support for Palestinians), but this reflects media bias and campus activism, not the broader populace. A Sunday Times poll in July 2025 revealed 21% of young Britons deny Israel’s right to exist—a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism—but overall, 79% affirm it. Scots and Brits aren’t clamouring to cut ties; they’re weary of the conflict and sceptical of extremes. Swinney’s move alienates the silent majority who value Israel’s role as a bulwark against Iranian-backed terror.
A Grotesque Betrayal of Our Western Ally
Israel isn’t just any ally; it’s a democracy sharing our values of freedom, innovation, and resilience. The UK-Israel trade deal supports £5.1 billion in annual bilateral trade (2023 figures), including Scottish exports in tech and whisky. Boycotting this harms Scottish jobs and economy—ironic from a government pleading poverty.
Worse, it signals support for Hamas, the “terrorist regime in Palestine” that executed the worst pogrom since the Holocaust. Swinney’s genocide rhetoric echoes anti-Israel propaganda, ignoring how Hamas embeds in civilian areas, inflating casualty figures (UN estimates suggest 35,000 total deaths in Gaza since October 2023, with 40% combatants). This isn’t solidarity; it’s surrender to radical ideologies that the mainstream media amplifies while burying stories of Palestinian corruption or rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.
This is yet another example of far-left leadership in the UK—think Labour’s equivocation under Starmer or the Greens’ BDS obsession—prioritising performative activism over realpolitik. Scotland’s devolved powers should focus on domestic woes, not virtue-signalling that emboldens terrorists.
Conclusion: Time to Reject This Far-Left Folly
The Scottish Government’s flag-raising and boycott are a slap in the face to Israel, our ally in the fight against extremism. It’s unrepresentative, economically reckless, and morally bankrupt. Brits and Scots deserve leaders who stand firm against terror, not ones who wave its banners. As the conflict rages, RightOfCentre.uk calls for sanity: support peace through strength, not appeasement.
