[ad_1]
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has refused an invitation from King Charles to a state dinner with Donald Trump in protest over Gaza.
Sir Ed, who has been vocal in his disapproval of the US president, said he “thought and prayed long and hard” about whether to accept the invitation to the state banquet at Windsor Castle during Mr Trump’s historic second visit next month.
“I have come to the conclusion that on this occasion I must refuse,” he wrote in The Guardian.
The Lib Dem leader said it is an “enormous honour” to receive an invitation from the king, and he takes “very seriously my duty to our sovereign”.
“To refuse an invitation like this goes against all my instincts,” he added.
But, he said he fears Mr Trump will be honoured with a “lavish dinner at one of our finest palaces and nobody reminds him that he has the power to stop the horrifying starvation, death, and captivities in Gaza”.
“And no one uses this moment to demand that the US president pick up that phone to Netanyahu and the Qataris and do the right thing,” he said.
Trump ‘has more power than anyone’
Sir Ed said Mr Trump “more than anyone else” has the power to stop the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, end the famine and get the hostages returned.
“Donald Trump could do those things today if he chose to. He has more power than anyone else finally to force a ceasefire and put Israel and Palestine on the path to a lasting peace with a two-state solution,” Sir Ed said.
“But so far, he’s decided not to. Instead, he’s given Netanyahu his full support.”
Read more:
Has Trump ended seven wars as he claims?
Sir Ed said he feels “a responsibility to do whatever I can to ensure the people in Gaza are not forgotten during the pomp and ceremony” and to ensure the UK makes Trump’s “personal responsibility for securing peace in…
[ad_2]
