Irish MEP travels to Palestine as part of European Parliament delegation

An Irish MEP travels to Palestine this week as part of an official European Parliament delegation to the West Bank. 

MEP for Ireland South, Grace O'Sullivan, will visit the towns of Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah (previously announced to be twinned with Waterford) as well as the international city of Jerusalem during the trip. 

She is also hopeful to be allowed entry into Gaza, however this will not be confirmed until hours prior to the visit due to ongoing security risks. 

A previous Parliament Delegation was cancelled in May 2022 when the chair of the Delegation, Spanish MEP Manu Pineda, was denied entry by Israeli authorities and the entire delegation was also denied entry to Gaza.

Pineda was again pre-warned that he would be denied entry to the country, and so has not travelled on this mission. 

O’Sullivan reportedly has a packed agenda for this visit, including meeting political leaders, NGOs, activists and those active in the fields of sustainability and gender equality. 

She is a member of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Palestine and previously co-signed the Occupied Territories Bill as a Senator. 

Speaking about the trip, the MEP stated, "Palestine is a place and issue that I am very passionate about, and something I have had the privilege to work on since 2016 when I was elected as a Senator.

"This, however, is my first time visiting the region, and I’m planning on listening and watching, taking in as much as possible from the locals and continuing to work with them in my role in the European Parliament." 

O’Sullivan has previously been vocally critical of the EU gas trade deal with Israel, which was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the wake of the Ukraine war.