SNP ‘breaching Israel boycott vote’ over bank bond plans

The SNP is breaching a historic Holyrood vote for an Israel boycott, amid preparations to issue new government bonds.

The government is also accused of allowing “secrecy” around a government agency, Scottish Enterprise, which “refused to publish key information” on preventing genocide in Gaza.

The Zionist occupation entity continues murdering Lebanese, Iranian and especially Palestinian civilians en-masse, largely unchecked by Western governments. Scotland’s government was among few to have taken meaningful steps in line with the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement’s urgent call.

The SNP-run Scottish government confirmed nine banks chosen to support a £1.5 billion issuance of bonds. Expected later in 2026 or early 2027, the plan will see private investors lend the government money.

However, among the banks signed up is Barclays. Although they’re not noted elsewhere, the Canary found that HSBC and NatWest, noted for complicity in Zionist crimes, are among the banks listed for bonds.

The global BDS movement condemns Barclays bank as one of the key British functionaries in “bankrolling Israel’s genocide”. The Palestinian-led BDS movement emphasise:

Barclays has an agreement with Israel to act as a ‘primary dealer’ for its government bonds [meaning] it helps Israel directly to raise money to fund its genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.

Palestinian call for BDS backed by majority of Welsh cabinet and nearly 40% of new Senedd members

SNP… change sub…Scotland’s historic BDS vote betrayed

In September last year, progressive MSPs in the Scottish Parliament backed a historic motion, which won, calling on the previous SNP government to:

Immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its [illegal] occupation of Palestine.

The SNP is still the ruling party, re-elected in May. The MSPs who voted for BDS therefore expect the government to uphold the core principles of that vote. It seems the government has swiftly betrayed those principles.

Patrick Harvie MSP, the Scottish Greens’ former co-leader who introduced the BDS motion, 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.

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

One spokesperson for the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign alleged that “despite a genocide taking place and ongoing gross violations of human rights by Israel, the Scottish Government have done nothing”.

We should pay attention, and the Scottish Government is on notice that their inaction means they are accountable for their failure to prevent a genocide.

Whether the party acted maliciously or egregiously, hoping nobody would notice, or there’s been a failure of inter-departmental coordination, or sheer incompetence, the SNP must answer. It must hear history calling and uphold BDS.

Mamdani ignores Israel lobby’s whines about BDS changes

Is the SNP enabling a cover-up?

The SNP is also facing scrutiny beyond bonds over Scottish government agency, Scottish Enterprise. The agency may still be funding weapons companies linked to Israel’s violations of international law despite the supposed ban, according to Amnesty International.

How banks finance genocide

Researchers at BankTrack have shown that European financial institutions maintain “extensive financial ties” with the Zionist “occupation, apartheid and genocide in Palestine”. Their joint investigation with the Don’t Buy Into Occupation Coalition found at least 1,115 banks and companies involved in illegality or war crimes.

The report notes how deeply embedded such companies are.

European financial institutions held over USD 1,503 billion in shares and bonds in companies with activities that help to sustain occupation, apartheid and genocide in Palestine as of August 2025…

1,115 European financial institutions have financial relationships with 104 business enterprises that have activities documented to be assisting in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory and/or the commission of the crime of genocide.

BDS campaigners single out Barclays among the UK’s worst banks. They document its ties to the Zionist occupation and funding of its murderous industrial war complex.

Lloyds Bank, scandalised for de-banking the Canary and withholding funds intended for staff wages, is among the most complicit too.

War on Want’s revealing report about UK banks’ complicity with Israel also found:

UK banks and financial institutions…hold shares worth over £10.8 billion in companies that sell weapons, military equipment and technology to Israel and used to oppress Palestinians.

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, also extensively documented the corporate world’s complicity. Her UN-published report holds no punches and states:

While political leaders and governments shirk their obligations, far too many corporate entities have profited from Israel’s economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now, genocide.

The complicity exposed by this report is just the tip of the iceberg; ending it will not happen without holding the private sector accountable, including its executives.

Yet even if the SNP continues to let down the Palestinian people, Scotland’s people maintains an organic BDS movement. You can see 150 Scottish business maintaining BDS principles on a map here.

Featured image via Andrew Milligan/ PA