An SNP MSP who was suspended from Holyrood for comments on the Israel-Gaza war has been expelled from the party.
John Mason had his whip removed in August after posting on X that there was “no genocide” in Gaza.
He later told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland that the situation was “not at all similar” to any previous genocide.
Mr Mason was expelled following a meeting of the SNP Member Action Committee on Saturday and has 21 days to appeal the decision.
Mr Mason confirmed the ouster on social media.
Writing in
“I continue to believe that we should be able to tolerate different opinions within our party, as long as we are all committed to Scottish independence.”
Mr Mason was suspended days after Foreign Secretary Angus Robertson was photographed standing alongside Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK, Daniela Grudsky.
Many SNP officials are highly critical of Israel’s actions in the Middle East, and the diplomatic contacts sparked an internal backlash.
However, Scottish First Minister John Swinney defended the face-to-face meeting with Israeli government representatives.
The SNP said it could not comment on his expulsion until the appeal period had ended.
At the time of Glasgow Shettleston MSP’s suspension, a spokesperson for the SNP leader said: “The casual disregard for the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians is completely unacceptable.”
“There is no place for this kind of intolerance in the SNP.”
The war began on October 7, 2023, with an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
More than 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-controlled region’s health ministry.
