DUP describes Sinn Fein's boycott of Donald Trump's White House over Palestine as 'reckless'

Sinn Fein's leadership will not attend the St Patrick’s Day event in "a principled stance against the threat of mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza".

Senior Sinn Fein figures normally travel to the US every year around the same time that the Irish premier traditionally gets invited to meet the US president for St Patrick's Day events.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump suggested Israel would turn Gaza over to the US for redevelopment into the "Riviera of the Middle East”, involving a mass displacement of Palestinians from the territory.

The proposals were widely condemned and later comments from the administration have suggested the displacement would be voluntary and temporary.

In response to the decision of Sinn Fein to boycott any White House event, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the fact that Sinn Fein made the announcement in Dublin “speaks volumes about where Northern Ireland sits as a priority” for the party.

He added: “The DUP will be represented in DC for St Patrick’s events.

"We always use the opportunity to strengthen Northern Ireland’s economic and political ties with the United States, regardless of who occupies the White House.

"We will continue to engage with our partners in Washington, promoting Northern Ireland as a place to invest, work, and do business.

"While there will always be differences of opinion on policy matters, Sinn Fein’s decision to disengage from an important diplomatic and economic opportunity is both short-sighted and counterproductive.

"It also doesn’t align with being a so-called ‘First Minister for all’.

"The United States is a key economic partner for Northern Ireland.

"Turning away from that relationship, particularly at a time when we need continued international support, is a reckless move that does nothing to advance the interests of people and businesses in Northern Ireland.”

Speaking on Friday, Ms McDonald said: "I followed with growing concern what's happening on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, and like many other Irish people, have listened in horror to calls from the president of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian lands."

She added: "There is also an onus on us to speak honestly and to act when we believe a US administration is wrong, catastrophically so in the case of Palestine.

"I've thought deeply about this issue in recent days, and listened to many voices inside and outside of Sinn Fein.

"I've made the decision not to attend the event in the White House this year as a principled stance against the call for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza , something which I believe demands serious dissent and objection."

Meanwhile Michelle O'Neill said she recognises the impact that the US has had on the island of Ireland, but that she is standing "on the side of humanity".

She said: "The decision to not travel to the White House has not been taken lightly, but it is taken very conscious of the responsibility that each of us have as individuals to call out injustice when we see it.

"We are all heartbroken whenever we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people, and the recent comments by the US president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza is just simply something that I cannot ignore."

She added: “I just think that there are times whenever we’ll all reflect, and certainly whenever my grandchildren ask me, what did I do whenever the Palestinian people were suffering, I could say that I stood in the sight of humanity.”

Ms O’Neill said she will travel to North Carolina as part of an economic mission about job creation.

“It’s about investment at home,” she added.

“I think we can do both those things at the same time, but there are times where political leaders must make a call.

"I believe that the right thing to do at this moment in time is to stand firmly on the side of humanity.”