ANGER continues to grow over a Scottish Government minister's secret meeting with a top Israeli diplomat.

Last week the Scottish Government's External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson held a meeting with Israel's deputy ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh, but details of the meeting were kept secret for four days, reportedly at the insistence of the Israelis, who cited security concerns.

According to a statement issued when the meeting was finally reported the pair discussed "areas of mutual interest, including culture, renewable energy, and engaging the country's respective diasporas."

It was also reported that the External Affairs Secretary reiterated to the Israeli Deputy Ambassador the Scottish Government's position in calling for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in Gaza, the unconditional release of all hostages and the opening of safe routes to allow more humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza.

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Israel's destructive war in Gaza began after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 last year causing the killing of 1200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and the kidnapping of over 200 more. As a result of Israel's retaliatory war over 40,000 Palestinians have been confirmed by the Gaza health authority as killed, again mostly civilians, and an estimated 10,000 more are missing and believed dead.

The massive scale of Israel's response has seen the destruction of over 50% of residential properties in Gaza and the displacement, often multiple times, of the vast majority of the population. The territory's health, education and water and sewage infrastructure lie in ruins and the continuing Israeli blockade has led to devastating shortages of water, food, and medicines. Famine and epidemics have already started to make themselves felt in the overcrowded hastily thrown-up tent cities in the so-called safe areas into which Israel has herded the traumatised population.

The scale of the destruction wrought by Israel and the enormous civilian loss of life puts a lie to Israel's repeated claims that it does not target civilians. Many believe that Israel is engaged in a campaign of deliberate devastation with the aim of making Gaza uninhabitable and pushing as many Palestinians as possible out of the territory into neighbouring Egypt or further afield. If true, this meets the definition of genocide under international law.

There has been considerable anger and alarm in Scotland over the situation in Gaza, and while no one condones or defends the horrific war crimes committed by Hamas when it attacked Israel on October 7 last year, no war crime, no matter how heinous, gives Israel the right to commit war crimes in response.

It is widely felt in Scotland that Israel's actions in Gaza go far beyond a proportionate right of defence and have crossed into a war of aggression targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to prolong as long as possible because the cessation of hostilities will mean he finally faces trial in Israel on charges of corruption and attempting to subvert the Israeli constitution.

With this background, many in Scotland looked askance at the apparent attempt by Angus Robertson to reward Israel with the promise of closer relations with Scotland. The move was - to put it kindly - politically misjudged, and comes across as yet another instance of the SNP leadership being tone-deaf to the concerns of the party grassroots and the wider independence movement, which is made all the worse in the aftermath of a dreadful electoral defeat for the party. Read the room, Angus.

The meeting was immediately condemned by Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer who accused the Scottish Government of being "two-faced" and said: “They publicly condemn Israel’s war crimes whilst holding secret meetings with its representatives to discuss so-called ‘mutual interests’.”

He added: “Angus Robertson wouldn’t dream of meeting representatives of Syria’s murderous Assad regime. Apartheid Israel should be no different."

Now the SNP's Westminster foreign affairs spokesperson, MP Brendan O'Hara, has written to Angus Robertson to express his anger and frustration about the meeting, which SNP MPs believe could undermine the work the SNP group at Westminster did before the election in championing the case for a ceasefire before the other two big Westminster parties.

Many within the party, including MSPs and senior councillors have expressed their disappointment that the meeting took place. In a single stroke, it trashed the moral high ground that the party had established on this crucial issue.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Tory leadership campaign has descended into chaos and bitter recriminations with four of the six candidates calling for the campaign to be paused after “disturbing” allegations about the conduct of Douglas Ross came to light.

(Image: PA)

Murdo Fraser, Liam Kerr, Jamie Greene, and Brian Whittle have all signed a joint letter to the Scottish Conservative management board – on which Ross sits – raising concerns about reports in the Telegraph that Ross had tried to quit as party leader in 2023 and install Russell Findlay as his replacement.

Ross is alleged to have tried to get Kathleen Robertson, the leader of Moray council, to stand aside and let him run for Westminster in the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey seat, telling her his heart is in Westminster [ we know Douglas, we know] If successful Ross was reportedly planning to stand down and orchestrate a succession as Holyrood leader by his crony Russell Findlay.

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Findlay is the favourite of the party hierarchy for the post and other candidates have accused the leadership of trying to stitch up the leadership contest for him.

Findlay and Meghan Gallacher, the current deputy party leader, are the only two standing in the contest who did not sign the statement raising concerns about Ross's conduct.

The Scottish Tories, having no respect for democracy? I'm as shocked as you are, which is to say not remotely shocked at all. SNP MP Graham Leadbitter, who won the constituency at the recent general election, has said that Ross should quit as an MSP given that he apparently sees the job as a “second best” to Westminster.

This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.

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