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Scottish government suspends all meetings with Israel

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Original article republished from MEMO under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

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The Scottish government announced Monday that it had suspended all meetings with Israeli ambassadors until “real progress” is made towards peace in the Gaza Strip and unimpeded access is granted to humanitarian assistance to the enclave, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, External Affairs Secretary, Angus Robertson, said the Scottish government would not accept any invitation for a further meeting with Israel until there was real progress on the Gaza conflict.

“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,” said Robertson.

This came after a recent meeting between Robertson and Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK, Daniela Grudsky, about two weeks ago, sparking criticism within the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The External Affairs Secretary said his view was that, given Grudsky had requested the meeting this 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, “he added.

OPINION: The gloves come off as two-faced Israel and its lackeys search desperately for friends

“No one intended that this meeting be presented as legitimising the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza,” he noted, expressing that the Scottish Government has been consistent in its “unequivocal condemnation of the atrocities” in the Palestinian enclave.

Noting that many had seen the meeting as a sign of normalisation between the Israeli and Scottish governments, Robertson stressed that it was clear that it would have been better to ensure that its agenda was strictly limited to the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza .

“I apologise for the fact that this did not happen,” he said.

Robertson added that, “going forward, it is clear that, having now spoken directly to the Israeli Government and making them aware of our position on an immediate ceasefire, it would not be appropriate to accept any invitation for a further meeting.”

Highlighting that this would remain the Scottish government’s position until real progress on a ceasefire is made, he said: “The Scottish Government does not support any normaliation of its relations with the Israeli Government during this period.”

“The Scottish Government will never hold back in expressing support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, an end to UK arms being sent to Israel and the recognition of a sovereign Palestinian State within a two-state solution.”

Former Scottish First Minister, Humza Yousaf, welcomed the statement, saying Robertson has “clearly listened and reflected on the anger and upset” in relation to his meeting with the deputy Israeli ambassador.

“Crucially, he has made it clear there cannot be normal relations with the Govt of Israel,” Yousaf said on X.

READ: British Foreign Office official resigns over Israel arms sales, war crimes in Gaza

Original article republished from MEMO under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Continue ReadingScottish government suspends all meetings with Israel

Thousands Kick Off DNC With Protest in Chicago Over Gaza

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Original article by JULIA CONLEY republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Police and demonstrators are seen at a march during the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024 in Chicago.
 (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“For Palestinian Americans, this is a fundamental issue,” said one marcher.

What’s expected to be the biggest protest march during this week’s Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago Monday afternoon, with demonstrators demanding that Vice President Kamala Harris support an end to unconditional U.S. military support for Israel amid its assault on Gaza, now in its tenth month.

Thousands gathered in Union Park before beginning their march to the United Center, where the convention is taking place.

Protesters carried signs and banners reading, “End State Violence From Chicago to Gaza” and “Dems’ Silence = Israel’s Violence.”

Organizers—who hoped to see 15,000 people in the streets—have expressed alarm in recent months over the Chicago Police Department’s aggressive response to pro-Palestinian protests, with a legal coalition last week expressing concern about Police Superintendent Larry Snelling’s intimidating comments about arresting protesters and other issues, and city officials have clashed with organizers about the route the march will take.

But threats of arrest did not deter groups including Jewish Voice for Peace from joining the march, with the local chapter saying its members would “make clear our commitment to freedom and safety for all people, from Chicago to Gaza” and as they demanded an “arms embargo now.”

Organizers of the Uncommitted movement, which emerged during the Democratic primary season to pressure President Joe Biden to end his support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, continue to press the Harris-Walz campaign to break with the administration’s position.

While Harris initially indicated to the group a willingness to discuss support for an arms embargo earlier this month, a top adviser for the Democratic nominee said soon after that the vice president does not support ending weapons transfers to Israel.

“For Palestinian Americans, this is a fundamental issue,” sociologist Eman Abdelhadi told Democracy Now! at the march. “We have spent 10 months watching our people die every day, and to ask us to simply just wait and hope that some change will happen… It’s just offensive and it’s completely insensitive.”

As the protesters assembled on Monday, journalist Mehdi Hasan warned in a column in The Guardian that Harris should see agreeing to the demand for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and an arms embargo not as a risk, but as “a moral, geopolitical, and—for the Democrats—electoral no-brainer.”

“Biden may want to continue sending more and more weapons to an Israeli government accused of war crimes at the international criminal court and of genocide at the international court of justice,” wrote Hasan, “but Harris should take a different stance—a bolder stance, a stance that is more in line with her party’s base, as well as with the American public at large.”

Original article by JULIA CONLEY republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

‘Tell Kamala Harris – stop supporting genocide!’ Code Pink and other peace campaigners descend on Democrat National Convention in Chicago

Continue ReadingThousands Kick Off DNC With Protest in Chicago Over Gaza

Number of aid workers killed more than doubled in 2023, and over half were in Gaza, says UN

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/number-aid-workers-killed-more-doubled-2023-and-over-half-were-gaza-says-un

Indiscriminate killing: Mourners pray at the funeral for more than 15 people, including several children and women, killed in an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah at the weekend

THE number of aid workers killed in conflict zones more than doubled last year, the UN reported today.

Its Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 280 aid workers were killed in 33 countries in 2023, compared to 118 in 2022.

Over half the killings took place in Gaza following Israel’s invasion, which began in October following a Hamas cross-border attack, with the majority of these down to Israeli air strikes, the office said.

Israel’s military has been accused of deliberately murdering aid workers, with the killing of seven working for World Central Kitchen on April 1 causing headlines around the world because they included US, Canadian, British and Australian citizens.

It has also been accused of attempting to starve Gaza by blocking or delaying aid convoys. Its National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, caused uproar in June when he told police not to interfere with mobs attacking aid convoys headed for Gaza.

THE number of aid workers killed in conflict zones more than doubled last year, the UN reported today.

Its Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 280 aid workers were killed in 33 countries in 2023, compared to 118 in 2022.

Over half the killings took place in Gaza following Israel’s invasion, which began in October following a Hamas cross-border attack, with the majority of these down to Israeli air strikes, the office said.

Israel’s military has been accused of deliberately murdering aid workers, with the killing of seven working for World Central Kitchen on April 1 causing headlines around the world because they included US, Canadian, British and Australian citizens.

It has also been accused of attempting to starve Gaza by blocking or delaying aid convoys. Its National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, caused uproar in June when he told police not to interfere with mobs attacking aid convoys headed for Gaza.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/number-aid-workers-killed-more-doubled-2023-and-over-half-were-gaza-says-un

Continue ReadingNumber of aid workers killed more than doubled in 2023, and over half were in Gaza, says UN

UK: Civil servant who resigned was formerly lead author of arms assessment

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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-civil-servant-who-resigned-formerly-assessed-arms-sales-legality-foreign-office

Mark Smith said he had been the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales to the Middle East

The British civil servant who resigned over concerns that the government is complicit in Israeli war crimes in Gaza has said he was formerly the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Foreign Office’s Middle East and North Africa Directorate.

Diplomat Mark Smith’s resignation was first reported when prominent journalist Hind Hassan posted the contents of his resignation letter on X on Friday evening. On Saturday Middle East Eye confirmed the resignation through two sources familiar with the situation.

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In a statement issued on Sunday, Smith added that he was the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate.

He said: “It was my job to gather all relevant information regarding civilian casualties, international law compliance as well as assess the commitment and capabilities of the countries in question.”

“To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that.”

It is unclear when Smith, who appears to have been at the British embassy in Dublin since at least 2022, was in this role.

Smith said he has written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy informing him of his resignation.

“I sincerely hope that he will listen to the concerns of Civil Servants on this issue and make the necessary changes.”

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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-civil-servant-who-resigned-formerly-assessed-arms-sales-legality-foreign-office

UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party's support for and complicity in Israel's genocide of Gaza.
UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
Continue ReadingUK: Civil servant who resigned was formerly lead author of arms assessment

SNP MSP has whip removed following ‘utterly abhorrent’ comments about Israel-Hamas conflict

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/snp-msp-has-whip-removed-following-utterly-abhorrent-comments-about-israel-hamas

John Mason at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, April 30, 2024

AN SNP MSP has had the whip removed following “utterly abhorrent” comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The party confirmed it has taken action following social media comments from Glasgow Shettleston MSP John Mason.

Party officials said that the whip has been removed with “immediate effect” after he posted: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.”

He made the comment amid a row over a meeting between Israel’s deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky and Scottish External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson.

Removing the whip from Mr Mason, a party spokesperson said: “To flippantly dismiss the death of more than 40,000 Palestinians is completely unacceptable.

“There can be no room in the SNP for this kind of intolerance.

“The chief whip has today withdrawn the whip from John Mason MSP with immediate effect, pending internal parliamentary group due process.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/snp-msp-has-whip-removed-following-utterly-abhorrent-comments-about-israel-hamas

Continue ReadingSNP MSP has whip removed following ‘utterly abhorrent’ comments about Israel-Hamas conflict