The home council of Sinn Féin first minister designate Michelle O’Neill will hear a motion calling for Irish politicians to boycott St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House in protest at Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
Mid Ulster District Council is set to consider the motion by independent republican Dan Kerr on Thursday.
The council, which has a Sinn Féin majority, covers a large swathe of south Derry and east Tyrone, of which Ms O’Neil is a native.
She is also a former Dungannon councillor, which later merged with Cookstown and Magherafelt to form the Mid Ulster authority.
On St Patrick’s Day every year a raft of senior Irish politicians visit Washington DC to attend a high profile event hosted at the White House by the sitting president.
There have been calls for local politicians to snub this year’s invitation over Mr Biden’s support for Israel’s operation in Gaza.
To date more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since its operation began last October.
It was launched after a series of Hamas led attacks last October, claimed around 1,400 lives.
Mr Kerr’s motion calls on “all politicians in Ireland to boycott the White House St Patrick’s Day celebrations hosted by Joe Biden and the American administration due to his/its culpability in the genocide happening in Palestine, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank”.
