Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, has announced she will not attend the annual St Patrick’s Day event at the White House next month as a protest against President Donald Trump’s stance on Gaza Strip.
O’Neill shared her decision on X, saying that she could not ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people and the recent comments by Trump regarding their forced displacement.
“We are all heartbroken as we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people, and the recent comments of the US president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza is something I cannot ignore,” O’Neill said at a press conference in Dublin on Friday, February 21.
“The decision not to travel to the White House has not been taken lightly, but it is taken conscious of the responsibility each of us as individuals have to call out injustice.”
“In the future, when our children and grandchildren ask us what we did while the Palestinian people endured unimaginable suffering, I will say I stood firmly on the side of humanity,” she added.
Sinn Fein party leader Mary Lou McDonald echoed O’Neill’s stance, saying she could not visit Washington “while there was a threat of mass expulsion hanging over the Palestinian people.”
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland politicians traditionally travel to the US each year for St Patrick’s Day celebrations on March 17.
Since January 25, President Trump has repeatedly expressed his intention to relocate Palestinians away from Gaza while transforming the Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” However, his statements indicate that once reconstruction is complete, Palestinians would not have the right to return, signaling permanent displacement.
Israel launched military operations in Gaza on October 7, 2023, following Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The offensive has since resulted in the deaths of at least 48,319 Palestinians—primarily women and children—while 111,749 others have been injured. Thousands remain missing and are presumed dead.
A ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel took effect on January 19, initiating a prisoner exchange and a phased truce lasting 42 days per stage.
