SINN FEIN’S leadership will not attend an event at the White House in “a principled stance against the threat of mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza.”

Party president Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s vice-president, made the announcement today.

Senior Sinn Fein figures usually travel to the United States every year around the time that the the Taoiseach takes up a traditional invitation to meet the US president for St Patrick’s Day events.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump suggested that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US for redevelopment into the “riviera of the Middle East”— a plan involving the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the territory.

The proposals were widely condemned and later comments from the Trump administration have suggested that the displacement would be voluntary and temporary, though at other times Mr Trump has said it would be permanent.

Speaking today, 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.

“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.”

Ms McDonald said it remained important for the Taoiseach, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, to attend as he speaks for the people of Ireland.

She said Mr Martin must use his expected bilateral meeting with Mr Trump to “reflect the view of the Irish people” in support of Palestine.

Ms O’Neill said she recognised the positive impact of the US on Ireland, including the Northern Ireland peace process.

However, she said she was standing “on the side of humanity” by not travelling to the White House.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, the First Minister 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.”

Ms O’Neill, who has travelled to the US several times, added: “At times like this, people look towards political leaders to stand against injustice.

“So in the future, whenever our children and grandchildren ask us what did we do when the Palestinian people endured unimaginable suffering, I can say firmly that I stood on the side of humanity.”