An ousted SNP MSP has vowed he will not apologise for his “deeply offensive and hugely inaccurate” comments on the ongoing war in Gaza. Glasgow Shettleston MSP John Mason had the whip removed over the weekend after he said Israel is not carrying out a genocide in Gaza. He has now refused to back away from his comments, saying in a radio interview he “stands by” his tweet.
Last week, Mr Mason posted on X: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.” He then posted on Facebook to say: “I personally do not believe that Israel has tried to commit, has committed, or is committing genocide.” Since 7 October, over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed.
When asked today by BBC Good Morning Scotland if he would apologise, and he said: “No, absolutely not. “I completely stand by my tweet, making the point that this is not genocide that is happening. “If we look at other examples of genocide historically, it’s nothing like what is happening in Gaza.
“If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they could have killed a lot more people. “There is no suggestion from Israel that they want to destroy Palestine or the people of Gaza.” Instead he added that both Iran and Hamas have previously said they want “Israel wiped off the map”, suggesting they both want to commit genocide in Israel but are not able to.
Mr Mason added: “Sometimes you have to do the right thing and take the consequences. “The reality is the SNP is p.