Scottish Greens expel councillor for calling Hamas, Hezbollah terrorist organizations
The Scottish Greens have long campaigned to remove Hamas from the list of designated terrorist organizations.
John Ross Scott claims he was expelled from the Scottish Greens for calling Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations, according to local media.
Scott is a councilor for Kirkwall East in Kirkwall, the largest town in the Orkney Islands.
Scott posted to Facebook on Thursday that he had been expelled from the Scottish Greens following an internal party process, which he was not informed of until it had been completed.
Scott claimed that he was expelled due to comments he had made calling Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.
He said the comments were reported to the party's Complaints Committee because the Scottish Greens officially called for the removal of Hamas and Hezbollah from the list of officially designated terrorist organizations.
Scott said that he was not involved in the investigation into himself and was not invited to hearings, nor was he given the opportunity to respond to the accusations.
He also said he was not informed of his expulsion on October 8. The Scottish Daily Express reported that Scott didn't learn about the expulsion until October 28.
Scott said he would fight the expulsion and continue representing his electorate in Kirkwall East as an independent councilor.
Scottish Greens' support for Hamas
The Times reported that the Scottish Greens have long campaigned to remove Hamas from the list of designated terrorist organizations.
Hamas was fully proscribed by the UK government in 2021 following Operation Guardian of the Walls; previously, only the military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, had been designated as a terrorist organization.
Hezbollah was fully proscribed by the UK in 2019; previously, only the external military wing from 2001 and then the whole military wing in 2008 were designated terrorist organizations.
The Scottish Greens have not commented on the expulsion.
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