Independent Scotland would sever ties with Israel, says SNP
An independent Scotland would sever diplomatic ties with Israel and shut its embassy there, the SNP's Westminster leader has said.
Stephen Flynn said he was 'deeply upset and angry' about what was happening in Gaza as he hit out at the UK Government's 'weak' position on the issue.
The Aberdeen South MP said the Israelis were 'ignoring' the UK, and ministers should 'do something that captures their attention'.
Speaking to The News Agents podcast, he said a separate Scotland would break off diplomatic relations with Israel and shut its embassy in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.
'The world is judging'
His intervention comes amid mounting pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to take further action against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza.
Last month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned Israel 's expansion of its ground operation in Gaza as an 'affront to the values of British people' and warned that 'the world is judging – history will judge them'.
The Prime Minister has also signed a joint statement with France and Canada threatening to take ' concrete actions ' if Israel did not stop its military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.
The move prompted a furious response from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who accused Sir Keir of offering a 'huge prize' to Hamas.
On Monday, the Government imposed asset freezes on ultra-nationalists Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, and banned them from entering the UK.
But Mr Flynn said: 'I've gone into the House of Commons on God knows how many occasions now and listened to David Lammy and Hamish Falconer, the Middle East minister, and they've told us how 'we're going to do this, or we're going to do that, and this is the latest thing we're going to do'.
'And then he stands up and says, 'but they're ignoring us'. Well, if they're ignoring you, then do something that captures their attention.'
He said SNP MPs would not be 'wise' to visit Israel, adding: 'I'd be amazed if any of them did, because they're not daft, and they probably know that they would get turned around and stuck on a plane right back out of Israel.
'Look, I'm deeply, deeply upset and angry about what's happened in Gaza and what continues to happen in Gaza, and the fact that the UK position has been so weak for far too long in respect of this. And I think it's important that you convey your views to people who are rational actors.'
'Student-politics approach'
But Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said: 'Stephen Flynn has once again betrayed the SNP's lack of credibility on international affairs with his simplistic, student-politics approach to the Middle East crisis.
'I'm sure his Aberdeen South constituents would rather he focused on the threat to their livelihoods posed by the SNP's hostility to oil and gas, rather than grandstanding on global issues.'
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