Pro-Palestine activists 'smear red blood paint' on path of Israeli team bus at Scotland stadium

Pro-Palestinian activists in Glasgow smeared 'blood red paint' on the ground of an entrance to Scotland’s National Stadium used by Israel's team bus on Friday, shortly before a game between the two nations was due to be held.

The words "Palestinian blood!" and "Free Gaza" were spray-painted on a wall along the entrance path to Hampden Park, images appearing widely on social media showed.

Staff at the venue were later seen attempting to wash the paint off the road and scrub the messages off the wall, The Scottish Sun report.

The protest act came ahead of an evening pro-Palestine demonstration organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), in response to a call from Palestinian football players to boycott the match between Scotland and Israel.

The rally, which took place outside the stadium, drew members of the Green Brigades, a pro-Palestinian Celtic supporter's group.

Videos shared to social media show chants of "Palestine" emanating from the crowd, who are seen waving Palestinian flags.

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Mick Napier, a founding member of SPSC, told The Glasgow Times that the Scottish Football Association was hosting a nation "condemned by groups such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and Amnesty".

"I was around to see apartheid happen and the boycott of sports was one of the biggest ways to hit South Africa at that time" he said.

"It seems evident to us that the public opinion is critical of Israel" he added.

The Nations League game, which ended in a 1-1 draw, is the second time Scotland will face Israel in upcoming weeks, with the Euro 2020 play-off match scheduled for October 8.

Read more: Unending blockade: Gaza ceasefire reinstates Israel's preferred status quo

Scottish football has witnessed similar anti-Israel protests. In 2016, Celtic fans held up hundreds of Palestinian flags during a match with Israeli club Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

Meanwhile, Israel, which has blockaded Gaza for more than a decade, had bombed the coastal enclave daily since the start of last month until early this week, when the latest escalation of fire between Israel and Hamas ended with a Qatar-brokered truce.  

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