Exclusive: Scottish Labour say they would continue SNP boycott of Israeli officials while Gaza ‘genocide’ takes place

The policy is almost identical to the approach of the current Scottish government.

In August last year, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Angus Robertson MSP faced a backlash for meeting Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK, Daniela Grudsky.

Following criticism – including from within his own party – he said: “Going forward, it is clear that, having now spoken direct 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.

“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 … The Scottish government does not support any normalisation of its relations with the Israeli government during this period.”

Earlier this week, Scottish Labour leader Sarwar was one of several Labour figures who posed for photos at the Palestinian Mission in London after the government announced its recognition of a Palestinian state – even though foreign affairs is not devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

He posted a video of himself standing alongside the Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot on Monday.

Shaking his hand, the Scottish Labour leader said it was a “very proud moment where the UK has finally righted a wrong and recognised a state of Palestine” and that the “genocide” in Gaza “must end”.

The Scottish Labour leader nodded along while the Palestinian ambassador spoke about the need to take more robust measures against Israel.

“We do need the genocide to end, the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank to end and we need to bring the war criminals to account … We take the tangible real step on this on this foundational step of recognition to actually enforce the full force of the law on all these illegalities, be it settlements, settlers and terrorists. Be it officials and army officers,” Zomlot said in the clip.

In addition to their boycott of Israeli figures, earlier this month the current SNP-led Scottish government declared that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to “genocide”. The Jewish Council of Scotland warned that the move could have “significant negative implications” for the small Jewish community in Scotland.

Despite several senior Labour figures, including Dame Emily Thornberry and Sir Sadiq Khan, calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide”, the government’s longstanding position is that this is a matter for international courts.

However, announcing the decision to recognise a Palestinian state on Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer called for an end to the conflict in Gaza and condemned Israel’s “relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza in the offensive of recent weeks … the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.”

The decision by Scottish Labour to refuse meetings with Israeli representatives comes in stark contrast to the approach taken by the Labour government in Westminster.

Earlier this month, Starmer met Israel’s president Isaac Herzog in Downing Street.

In an interview with the JC at his time in the UK, Herzog made clear his country’s opposition to the move to recognise a Palestinian state: “I think [Starmer] is making a huge mistake on the Palestinian issue. Why are they doing this when we have to negotiate a hostage deal? Recognising Palestine now is a huge mistake. It could flare up the entire region for nothing.”

The Labour Party was contacted for comment.