Sinn Fein has cancelled its annual visit to the White House on St Patrick’s Day, over President Donald Trump’s policy on Palestine.
Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald made the announcement today.
Traditionally the leader of Sinn Fein has visited the White House and Capitol Hill on St Patrick’s Day, alongside the usual visit from the Taoiseach. Michael Martin’s visit to Washington DC is one that will go ahead next month.
At a press conference held today along with First Minister Michelle O’Neill, McDonald told media that Sinn Fein was taking a “principled stance” over Trump’s proposals to turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East” while also displacing Palestinians in the process.
“I followed with growing concern what’s happening on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, and like many other Irish people, have listened in horror to calls from the President of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian lands,” McDonald said.
“There is also an onus on us to speak honestly and to act when we believe a US administration is wrong, catastrophically so in the case of Palestine.”
