THE Scottish government is breaching its own Israel boycott with its £1.5 billion bond programme, the Scottish Greens alleged today.

Last week, the SNP government announced that nine major banks had been appointed to advise on the bond scheme, including HSBC, Merrill Lynch International and Barclays.

Barclays in particular has long been a target of protests by boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigners, with Palestine Solidarity Campaign research finding that the firm has lent £6.1bn to and holds £2.1bn of stock in nine firms supplying the Israeli military with weapons and technology that are central to its oppression and slaughter of Palestinians.

The agreement with Barclays comes less than a year after First Minister John Swinney declared that there was a “prima facie case of genocide in Gaza,” after backing a Scottish Greens motion calling for a boycott of Israel and firms complicit in its militarism.

“We will pause new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country. That will include Israel,” he told MSPs in August last year.

“The decision covers all devolved public bodies, from the Scottish government to the Scottish National Investment Bank and the enterprise agencies, with funding for apprenticeships at arms manufacturers trading with Israel continuing only so that existing training can be completed.”

Accusing the SNP of breaching its own boycott, Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie, who tabled the BDS motion at Holyrood, said: “This isn’t good enough. 

“When a company is so directly linked to arming Israeli forces, then they should clearly be covered by any boycott worthy of the name. 

“The Scottish government agreed to our motion to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel and companies linked to the atrocities being carried out against Palestinians. 

“By any reasonable understanding, they are breaching this commitment by choosing Barclays as a provider for their new bonds scheme.

“Paying lip service is not enough. Tens of thousands of Palestinian people have been killed, while Barclays have supported those profiting from the destruction.

“If a company has profited from apartheid and genocide, then they should not be able to profit here in Scotland.  

“It is almost a year since the Scottish Parliament voted for our motion, but the Scottish government has failed to turn words into action.”