Scottish govt. suspends meetings with Israel envoys amid Gaza genocide
The Scottish government has suspended all meetings with the Israeli regime’s ambassadors until “real progress” was made towards cessation of Tel Aviv’s ongoing war of genocide against the Gaza Strip.
External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson announced the decision on Monday, saying Edinburgh would not accept any invitations from the envoys for the time being.
"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 decision came around two weeks after a meeting between Robertson and the regime’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky sparked criticism within the Scottish National Party.
Explaining the reason behind his joining the meeting, Robertson said his view was that this was "an opportunity to express the Scottish government's clear and unwavering position" on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
At least 40,139 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and some 92,743 others wounded since October 7, when the regime launched the war in response to a retaliatory operation staged by Gaza’s resistance groups.
Concomitantly with the war, the regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on the coastal sliver, which has reduced the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the territory into a trickle.
In December, South Africa filed a genocide case against the regime at the International Court of Justice over the brutal military onslaught.
The court then issued an initial ruling ordering Tel Aviv to refrain from acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention. It issued another verdict in March, ordering the regime to ensure that basic food supplies could reach the Gazans.
The regime, however, has not only been acting in defiance of the verdicts, but also has been complicating ongoing negotiations that have been held in the Qatari capital Doha towards hammering out a truce deal.
Reporting on Friday, AFP cited an “informed source” as saying that the regime had demanded keeping its forces inside Gaza along the territory’s border with Egypt, despite the Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas’ insistence on the regime’s full withdrawal.
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