THE SNP are facing questions over a “secret” meeting with an Israeli diplomat as the country continues its brutal assault on Palestine.
First Minister John Swinney has been asked whether he "sanctioned" the meeting amid a fresh barrage of criticism from pro-Palestine campaigners.
We revealed previously how External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson secretly met with Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky Ekstein in Edinburgh on August 8.
Details, including that the meeting had taken place, were kept under wraps for four days, with the Scottish Government eventually releasing a readout of the pairs’ discussion.
Robertson (below) was said to have reiterated calls for a ceasefire and greater access for humanitarian aid, as well as touching on “areas of mutual interest, including culture, renewable energy, and engaging the country’s respective diasporas”.
The meeting has sparked outrage from pro-Palestine campaigners, and the Greens have previously argued that the Scottish Government should treat Israel like a rogue state such as Syria.
David Myles, a member of the Scottish Friends of Palestine group, said the meeting was “a further example of the Scottish Government saying one thing in public and doing another behind closed doors”.
He pointed to state funds being used to support arms companies with links to the Israeli military through Scottish Enterprise as evidence of the SNP’s “tacit support for Israel”.
Myles asked what Robertson believed Scotland had “in common with an openly fascist regime”.
He added: “Times have changed and the Scottish Government has nowhere to hide. It must finally match its language with actions. It must end support for Israeli arms from Scotland and refuse to host any Israeli representatives until the genocide and the illegal occupation of Palestine ends.”
Lindsey German, national convener of the Stop the War Coalition, said: “If the SNP Scottish Government is so unwavering in its support for an immediate ceasefire then it shouldn't be having secret diplomatic meetings with genocide enablers, it's as simple as that.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Friends of Palestine asked whether the First Minister (below) had “sanctioned this meeting”.
They added: “There is nothing to discuss with the current Israeli government, an occupying power which has no right of self-defence against the occupied but has a legal obligation to end the occupation.
"After 57 years of military occupation, it is quite clear that [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his cabal of messianic, right-wing racists have decided to end the occupation through genocide.
“If the Scottish Government has any role to play it is to ensure that the boycott, divestment and sanctions call from the Palestinian people is adopted throughout Scotland.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government has been consistently clear that an immediate and sustained ceasefire by all sides is required, along with the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, to prevent further loss of innocent life and end the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
"The Cabinet Secretary made this position directly and explicitly clear to the deputy ambassador of Israel.
"Agreeing to meet foreign diplomats visiting Scotland provides the opportunity to express the Scottish Government's position on international issues.
"The Scottish Government continues to support a two-state solution that includes the recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state and respects the human rights of everyone in the region.”
