Sinn Fein's views on Hamas makes it harder to sit down with them, says Sammy Wilson

The News Letter asked Mr Wilson his reaction to the Sinn Fein response the eruption of violence in Israel after the October 7 surprise assault from Hamas terrorists who left Gaza by gliders and through breaches in the security barrier along the 30-mile border.

He replied: “Sinn Fein has, once again, through its reaction to what has happened in Israel, and the terrorism of Hamas, confirmed in the minds of people that they have left behind their terrorist past. They still eulogise terrorists, support terrorists, and even when the most horrific terrorist atrocities are committed, they still cannot help themselves, but support a terrorist organisation.”

Mr Wilson also said: “What other political party would stand up and support a group which has beheaded children, kidnapped grannies, devastated pop concerts, gunned young people down as they listened to music? What other credible political party would behave in this way?”

Mr Wilson continued: “This makes it more difficult to sit down with them at a time when we know that had the assembly been up and running they would have been carrying out the same tactics in the assembly – divisive, angering and destructive.”

The News Letter asked Mr Wilson if he was saying that Sinn Fein’s response impacts on the return of Stormont. He said: “I think it has an impact on how people view them as responsible colleagues in a government. I mean many people will say, look, how can you work with people who have once again shown that they are terrorist supporters? And that they are no different, they treat outside terrorists the same way as they treated the IRA, they eulogise, glorify and in doing so hurt victims over and over again.”

In his conference speech, the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: “The merciless murder of innocent men, women, and children by Hamas terrorists in Southern Israel and the maiming and abduction of others brought back vivid memories of similar atrocities during the darkest days of our own troubled past.”