JOHN Mason has had the whip withdrawn from him with “immediate effect”, the SNP has confirmed.
It comes after the MSP published a series of posts on Twitter/X which appeared to deny that a genocide was taking place in Gaza.
On Friday evening, Mason wrote: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.”
It was in response to former SNP MSP Sandra White, who said: “We know what Israelis hope to achieve they are already committing genocide in Gaza”, adding that “innocent children are being massacred”.
In a separate tweet, Mason said: “There is no genocide. If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed many many more.”
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the SNP’s chief whip confirmed that the whip had been withdrawn from Mason with “immediate effect”.
The 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“The chief whip has today withdrawn the whip from John Mason MSP with immediate effect, pending internal Parliamentary Group due process.
“The SNP group will now meet to discuss the matter, with a recommendation that the whip be suspended from John Mason for a fixed period of time because of this utterly abhorrent comment.”
It comes as both Mason and Culture Secretary Angus Robertson are facing intense scrutiny after holding separate meetings with the deputy Israeli ambassador to the UK.
Robertson (below, right) met with the senior diplomat last week, although details of the meeting were kept under wraps for four days until it was revealed by the Scottish Government the pair had discussed “areas of mutual interest” between the two countries.
First Minister John Swinney defended the meeting, arguing that the Scottish Government agreed to the meeting on the basis it could put forward its position on “the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza”.
In a post on Twitter/X, Mason said his meeting with the diplomat was a “useful discussion on what Israel hopes to achieve in Gaza”.
Very pleased to see @AngusRobertson met Israeli deputy ambassador @DanielaGrudsky. I also met her last week. Useful discussion on what Israel hopes to achieve in Gaza. As UK learned in Ireland, to achieve peace we must talk to each other... including to people we disagree with. pic.twitter.com/81b8KdrTOc
— John Mason (@JohnMasonMSP) August 15, 2024
Mason's comments have caused outrage from SNP members who called for him to lose the whip, with the tweet receiving more than 1000 comments and more than 700,000 impressions.
Former Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “Forty thousand plus dead in Gaza and you tweet this. You are not fit for public office. You are an embarrassment and not fit to represent anyone. You glorify killing and murder with your obtuse comment. Just go and do it now.”
James Dornan, SNP MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, said: “Oh John give it a rest man. That’s a disgraceful tweet.”
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7.
The first case of Polio in Gaza has been confirmed, as aid agencies warn that they will be unable to administer vaccines unless there is a pause in the fighting.
