Humza Yousaf has made an emotional appeal to MSPs to demand the new UK Government - which looks set to be lead by Labour - recognise the state of Palestine as he gave his debut speech to Holyrood since his resignation as First Minister.

Mr Yousaf, who announced he would be stepping down at the of April and gave a farewell statement on May 7, spoke movingly about the war in Gaza where since October 7 last year more than 35,000 Gazans have been killed, including 14,000 children while 21,000 children are missing including many buried in rubble.

The SNP benches were packed to see the former First Minister's return to to speak in the chamber.

He asked colleagues across the parliament "where on earth is our humanity?"

He said the "cycles of violence will continue" unless a two state settlement, which recognises both Israel and Palestine, and which has been agreed by the international community is implemented.

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"During my last speech from the frontbenches, I promised to continue speaking up for those whose voices have been suppressed. I hope today’s motion is a clear demonstration of my commitment to do just that. There has been significant focus on the dreadful terrorist attack on October 7th, and the atrocious killing of over 35,000 Gazans thereafter, when discussing the issue of Israel and Palestine, and that is understandable. However, it is important to note that the violence and injustices in that region did not begin on October 7th last year," he said.

(Image: AP) Palestinians look at the aftermath of the Israeli strike on a U.N.-run school that killed dozens of people in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 6, 2024. An Israeli strike early Thursday on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed more than 30 people, including 23 women and children, according to local health officials. The Israeli military said that Hamas militants were operating from within the school. Photo: Jehad Alshrafi/AP.

"What is indisputable is that cycles of violence will continue, many more innocent people will die, unless we address the root causes. Unfortunately, in our lifetimes we have seen far too many innocent people killed due to the international community’s failure to bring about peace in the Middle East.

"At the core of this failure, is a broken promise. A promise made as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled, by force, from their homes 76 years ago."

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf to address Holyrood for first time since exit

Mr Yousaf spoke about his wife Nadia's relatives who had to flee their home in the West Bank and settle in Gaza "clutching their keys in their hands in the forlorn hope that one day they would be allowed to return".

He added: "For decades, the promise the international community has made has been to a two-state solution. Instead of progress towards that goal, we have seen the systematic occupation of Palestinian land, the expansion of illegal settlements and with it the erasure of generations of Palestinian families.

"There will simply be no peace in the region until the promises that were made by the international community are kept, and surely the most basic step towards keeping that promise has to be the formal recognition of the state of Palestine....Let me be absolutely clear, the time to officially recognise Palestine is right now, and it is in no-one’s gift to veto the right of the Palestinian people."

Mr Yousaf added that he was pleased that his successor as First Minister John Swinney had urged both the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to recognise the state of Palestine.

"In just over a week’s time Keir Starmer will likely be the PM of the United Kingdom," he said.

"My appeal to him and the Government he will lead is not to equivocate, do not deny the people of Palestine their inalienable right to Statehood for a second longer. Instead, ensure that the UK joins our neighbours and allies in Ireland, Norway and Spain and immediately recognise the state of Palestine.  Anything less will be a betrayal of the people of Palestine who have been let down for far too long. This has never been a question of being pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli, but pro-humanity.  And I am left asking where on earth is our humanity?

"Over 37,000 Gazans killed, including over 14,000 children, where is our humanity? Over 86,000 injured, where is our humanity? The car 6-year old Hind Rajab was travelling in, is alleged to have been hit by 335 bullets. 335 bullets raining down on a car full of innocent children, women and men. Where is our humanity?"

Mr Yousaf went on to urge parliament to agree that the UK Government "must end the sale of arms to Israel and do so immediately."

He added: "ICC prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for both Hamas and senior members of the Israeli Government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICJ is considering whether or not Israel has committed Genocide.

"Sending arms to Israel is therefore not only morally unjustifiable, it is complicity, and we should have nothing to do with war crimes that are undoubtedly being committed.

"Presiding Officer, accountability is the very bedrock of the global rules-based order. And if arrest warrants are issued then the UK Government must make it clear that should anyone against whom a warrant has been issued, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, land on British soil then they will be arrested so they can be held to account for the crimes they have committed.

"We should be in no doubt, as the UN have recently stated, war crimes are being committed, and it is right those who are guilty, state and non-state actors are held to account."

He concluded: "Over 14,000 children in Gaza have already been killed, and up to 21,000 children are estimated to be missing, according to Save the Children, many trapped beneath rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or lost from their families.

"Hospitals obliterated, schools destroyed, UN buildings bombed, and all of this being livestreamed into our living rooms, while political leaders fail abysmally to put an end to the violence... Let us be able to say that we were on the right side of history."

Scottish Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw and Scottish Labour MSP congratulated Mr Yousaf on bringing the debate and for his work in supporting Scotland's Jewish community.Mr Carlaw said said he had concerns like many in Scotland's Jewish community in what Mr Netanyahu's goverment was doing with its military actions in Gaza.

"I  have concerns, as have many in my own Jewish community, about the way that the Netanyahu government...has prosecuted this conflict," he said.

He added: "I think there is a will across this parliament... to accept that what is now going on is unacceptable, and progress must be made, and that progress must end with the recognition of a Palestinian state in a secure two state environment within the Middle East."

Ms Neill thanked Mr Yousaf for his devotion to the Palestinians, "and for choosing this as his first debate as a former First Minister. I think it means a lot, but also to recognise as Jackson Carlaw has done the work he has done with the Jewish community in these very difficult times."

Concluding the debate external affairs secretary Angus Robertson said an estimated 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering in tent camps and cramped apartments, "desperate for food, desperate for water, desperate for medical supplies".

He said: "The health system, along with much of the infrastructure in Gaza, has been decimated. Lifesaving aid has been systematically blocked from entering the territory, in contravention of international law. And the International Court of Justice has been crystal clear that Israel must ensure unimpeded access to Gaza for humanitarian aid.
"So I urge all parties to step up their efforts to agree a ceasefire urgently so that the hostages can at last be reunited with their families, the bombing can stop, and the unimaginable suffering that this conflict has caused can finally end."