Dundee councillor Nadia El-Nakla has won assurances there will be no further meetings between the Scottish Government and Israeli diplomats after crisis talks with First Minister John Swinney.
She spoke to the SNP leader after a furious backlash at the decision to send government minister Angus Robertson to meet Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK.
Ms El-Nakla – who is convener of the SNP friends of Palestine – told The Courier she was among those who met Mr Swinney on Saturday.
It is understood the first minister gave those present his assurance there would be no normalisation of relations between Scotland and Israel under present circumstances.
Mr Robertson then issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying there would be no further engagement with the country.
‘We expect no future meetings with Israeli government’
Ms El-Nakla, whose parents became trapped in Gaza as a result of the offensive, said: “I am grateful to the first minister for reaching out to meet us.
“I would hope that the strength of feeling expressed by those present was accepted by the first minister.
“We would expect this to result in no future meetings with the government of Israel while the unacceptable killing of innocent civilians continues and while there remains an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes being sought for [prime minister of Israel] Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The row has already led to the suspension of MSP John Mason from the SNP for comments he made rejecting claims of genocide in Gaza.
Mr Swinney has meanwhile been warned to expect a “conference from hell” as the SNP faithful gather in Edinburgh later this month.
‘Quit’
Members are understood to be preparing calls for Mr Robertson to quit, even though the first minister confirmed he was aware of the meeting in advance.
SNP MSP Ruth Maguire said Mr Robertson had allowed himself to “appear to legitimise a genocidal, apartheid regime who continue to commit war crimes”.
The meeting also drew criticism from Alex Salmond, who attacked the Scottish Government’s handling of the situation on Sunday.
John Swinney defends talks
Mr Swinney had publicly defended the meeting between Mr Robertson and Israel’s deputy ambassador, Daniela Grudsky, as “necessary”.
He said the talks gave his government the chance to press the need for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
But in his statement on Monday afternoon, Mr Robertson apologised that the meeting was not strictly limited to the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.
He has since told the Israeli government there would no more engagement.
“This will remain our position until such time as real progress has been made towards peace, unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance is provided and Israel cooperates fully with its international obligations on the investigation of genocide and war crimes,” he said.
“The Scottish Government does not support any normalisation of its relations with the Israeli Government during this period.”
Gaza’s health ministry says at least 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, which started after Hamas-led terrorists launched an attack on Israel on October 7 2023, taking more than 100 Israelis as hostages.
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