"Although FCO officials initially said that they were in principle able to provide support for such a visit, I have since been informed that the FCO view has changed and that the FCO would not support a visit to Gaza," Yousaf wrote in a letter to UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
In late 2014, British Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood and Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to the region Baroness Morris were allowed to travel to Gaza. According to Yousaf, the authorities explained their refusal to back the Scottish diplomat's trip saying "UK works exclusively to a reserved foreign affairs agenda in Gaza."
Gaza has been hit by a humanitarian crisis in the wake of last year's Israeli 50-day military operation against the Hamas movement. The conflict gave way to an open-ended ceasefire in August 2014 after claiming the lives of over 2,000 Palestinians and 71 Israelis, according to UN estimates.
Meanwhile, Scotland has been embroiled in a tug of war with Westminster since last September's failed independence referendum with 45 percent voting in support of seceding from the United Kingdom. Despite London's pledge to devolve more powers to Edinburgh if the public voted to remain part of the United Kingdom, Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney noted Westminster's promises fell short of its rhetoric.
