Singer Sinead O’Connor is attempting to back out of a scheduled performance in Israel, saying that she was unaware pro-Palestinian groups had called on her to boycott Israel.



“I was not informed by my booking agent and was unaware myself, that a boycott of Israel had been requested by the Palestinian people,” O’Connor wrote in a statement published Friday on her website and later removed.



“I agreed to perform having been unaware any such boycott had been requested. Had I been aware I would not have agreed to perform.”



The Irish singer is scheduled to play in Caesarea on September 11. The concert date is not listed on her website.



O’Connor added that she would pull out only if there is no financial cost, pointing out that she is the sole breadwinner for her four children.



“No one should assume musicians can afford not to work. Neither should anyone assume we can afford to pay the legal costs involved in pulling out of shows,” she wrote.



O’Connor criticized supporters of both the Palestinians and of Israel.



“I do not appreciate being bullied by anyone on either side of this debate any more than I appreciate not being properly informed by my booking agent of the potential ramifications of accepting work in war zones,” she wrote.



It is not the first time that an O'Connor concert in Israel has been contentious. She canceled a planned concert in Jerusalem in 1997, following right-wing protests against her participation, legal action and death threats.