Robertson apologises after meeting with Israeli diplomat

SNP ministers have effectively suspended diplomatic relations with Israel and apologised for meeting representatives from the country after a bout of infighting within the party.
Angus Robertson, the external affairs secretary, shifted blame back on to himself for the talks after briefings that took place over the weekend which pointed the finger at John Swinney, the first minister.
In a statement issued through the Scottish government, Robertson said his meeting with Daniela Grudsky, Israel’s deputy ambassador, should have been limited to the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the “appalling loss of life in the region”.
He apologised for those limits not having been enforced and said further meeting invitations would not be accepted.
Robertson said the Scottish government thought that Grudsky would raise concerns about antisemitism, adding: “It was rightly for me to decide whether to take the meeting, however, as is normal practice, the first minister was made aware before the meeting happened.”
At the weekend The Sunday Mail reported that Swinney, who previously described the talks as “necessary”, had asked Robertson to attend the meeting.
The statement followed a further escalation of tensions on Monday when Ivan McKee, the business secretary, said Robertson should be “reflecting” on whether he had properly communicated the Scottish government’s condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza during the August 8 meeting.
“I think there is absolutely no harm in us providing more clarity on what was discussed at that meeting,” McKee told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland. “But also restating our position, again, as the first minister has done, on ceasefire, on humanitarian aid, on recognition of the state of Palestine. And on those other issues that I’ve mentioned, about genocide and about detention and torture of Palestinians, about the arrest warrants, about the illegal settlements, about Israel’s behaviour in Gaza.”
Jenny Gilruth, the education secretary, said the meeting was not discussed by the Scottish cabinet when it met on Monday.
Nadia El Nakla, the SNP councillor, who is married to Humza Yousaf, the former first minister, was part of a meeting on Saturday between Swinney and Nationalist affiliate groups.
She told The Courier she “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 Binyamin Netanyahu”.
Later Yousaf said there had been “anger and upset in the party” before praising Robertson for being “unwavering in his support for a two-state solution, and supported the recognition of the Palestinian state for many years”.
Yousaf added: “He continues to be an asset when representing Scotland on the world stage.”
Swinney has replaced Robertson representing the Scottish government at an Edinburgh book festival event on devolution on Tuesday evening.
A motion of censure against Robertson has been put forward for the SNP conference on the grounds that he has brought the Nationalists into disrepute by holding talks with Grudsky.
Joanna Cherry, the former SNP MP, who is hostile to Robertson, claimed that he was “a very protected position within the SNP” and would remain in his government post.
Senior UK and Scottish ministers regularly meet with representatives from states with which they disagree. In recent years senior figures have held talks with diplomats from countries such as China, India and Turkey, usually to discuss matters arising from devolved areas of government. Insiders stress that Scottish officials raise human rights with authoritarian regimes.
Robertson said: “My view was that given the Israeli UK deputy ambassador had requested a meeting it was an opportunity to express the Scottish government’s clear and unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and I did exactly that.
“No one intended that this meeting be presented as legitimising the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. The Scottish government has been consistent in our unequivocal condemnation of the atrocities we have witnessed in Gaza.”
He said that had “been taken by many to represent a normalisation of relations between the Israeli and Scottish governments.
“As such, it is clear that it would have been better to ensure that the meeting was strictly limited to the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the appalling loss of life in the region. I apologise for the fact that this did not happen.”
He said he had told the Israeli government that SNP ministers would not accept any invitations for further meetings until the situation has changed in Gaza.
Separately, John Mason, who had the SNP whip removed over online comments that said if “Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many”, on Monday told the BBC: “I completely stand by the tweet”.