Scotland halts meetings with Israel
The Scottish government has announced that it will not engage in meetings with Israeli officials until there is “real progress” towards peace in Gaza. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Scotland has announced that it will suspend all meetings with Israeli officials until there is “real progress” toward peace in Gaza. This decision comes in the wake of criticism regarding a previously undisclosed meeting between Scottish External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson and an Israeli diplomat earlier this month.
On Monday, Robertson issued an essentially apologetic statement concerning his two-week-old meeting with Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein. He emphasized that the meeting did not “represent a normalization of relations” between the governments of Israel and Scotland.
Robertson clarified that the meeting was requested by Ekstein and that he viewed it as an “opportunity to express” Scotland’s “unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.” He further stated, “No one intended that this meeting be presented as legitimizing 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 also remarked, “Going forward, it is clear that... it would not be appropriate to accept any invitation for a further meeting… until such time as real progress has been made towards peace.”
Robertson faced criticism from within the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), with some members calling for his suspension and labeling him “a liability.” Additionally, there has been discontent regarding the “secrecy” of the meeting, which only came to light after Grudsky shared a photo with Robertson on X (formerly Twitter).
The UK government, of which Scotland is a part, has also been advocating for a ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli armed forces.
In related news, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy recently traveled to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, where he met with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
On Monday, Robertson issued an essentially apologetic statement concerning his two-week-old meeting with Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein. He emphasized that the meeting did not “represent a normalization of relations” between the governments of Israel and Scotland.
Robertson clarified that the meeting was requested by Ekstein and that he viewed it as an “opportunity to express” Scotland’s “unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.” He further stated, “No one intended that this meeting be presented as legitimizing 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 also remarked, “Going forward, it is clear that... it would not be appropriate to accept any invitation for a further meeting… until such time as real progress has been made towards peace.”
Robertson faced criticism from within the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), with some members calling for his suspension and labeling him “a liability.” Additionally, there has been discontent regarding the “secrecy” of the meeting, which only came to light after Grudsky shared a photo with Robertson on X (formerly Twitter).
The UK government, of which Scotland is a part, has also been advocating for a ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli armed forces.
In related news, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy recently traveled to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, where he met with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
