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”.
The party’s president Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s vice president, made the announcement on Friday.
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.
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.”
Ms McDonald said it is still 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 with Mr Trump for St Patrick’s Day to “reflect the view of the Irish people” in support of Palestine.
The Sinn Fein leader said it would be “unforgivable” if Mr Martin did not avail of the opportunity to tell Mr Trump how Irish people feel about Palestinians and the conflict in Gaza.
She urged the Taoiseach not to “equivocate” during his meeting with the US president.
“I would urge the Taoiseach to be true to us as Irish people, and to express accurately, truthfully, honestly, the feeling in this country and beyond Ireland, on our national day,” Ms McDonald said during a press conference on Friday.
“I would ask him to reflect the true spirit of Irish people at home and abroad, for justice, for fairness, for freedom, and to articulate that in the clearest possible terms.
“I can’t put words in his mouth but we are asking and urging that he avail of the opportunity.
“I think it would be unforgivable for the Taoiseach, the person who uniquely has this opportunity, not to avail of it, to be clear, to be frank, and to insist that a threat such as it has been made by the American president against the Palestinian people, that it be withdrawn. Let’s all get back on the page of ceasefire, of calm, of stability, of engagement, of international law.
“Those are the parameters within which all of us have to operate. That’s the way in which we can actually get to a just and lasting settlement, Palestinian self-determination and security, also for the people of Israel.”
The Dublin TD rejected assertions that her party’s stance would undermine Ireland’s efforts to protect its economic interests in the face of potential new US tariff and tax policies.
“We’re aware that Irish jobs and Irish interests need to be protected,” she told reporters in Dublin.
“We also know that there are moments where important calls have to be made, and we face now a direct threat and call from the president of the United States for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the annexation of that land.
“That is unconscionable, and we believe that Irish political leaders, including the Taoiseach, need to state our firm opposition to that and call it out.”
Ms O’Neill said she recognises the positive impact that the US has had on the island of 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 the 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, said she informed DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of her decision on Friday morning.
“I have spoken with Emma. I’ve spoken with her this morning and it’s absolutely Emma’s call in terms of what she may decide to do,” she said.
“For me, this is about taking a principled stand. This is about a moment in time, a moment in history whenever we’d all reflect around what we did. And this is an opportunity to take a stand for the Palestinian people against the backdrop of what is a very dangerous threat to the Palestinian people.
“This represents a breach of international law. This would represent war crimes. This is about humanitarianism. This is so essential that we take this stance at this moment in time. So I expect that Emma will respect my view.
“Equally, I will respect Emma’s view, and she will have to decide and speak for herself in terms of what action she might take and whether or not she will attend the White House.”
The Sinn Fein leaders were challenged on why they believed it was right for Mr Martin, as Ireland’s head of government, to go to the White House, but yet decided that Ms O’Neill, who is joint leader of Northern Ireland’s devolved government, should boycott the St Patrick’s events.
They highlighted that the Taoiseach’s engagement with Mr Trump was “distinct” and “unique”, as he would have a bilateral political meeting with the president – something the Stormont First Minister would not have.
“This is Ireland’s day. This is about the US and Ireland. So the distinct difference, I think, as First Minister and as Taoiseach can easily be drawn on that occasion,” Ms O’Neill added.
“When it comes to a moment like this, you have to make a call. And for me, the right call at this moment in time is to take a principled stand for Palestine.”
Ms McDonald added: “The distinction with the Taoiseach is that he uniquely has the opportunity to directly take that stand and to articulate that position directly.
“And I think that marks a distinction, an obvious distinction, with myself as leader of the opposition, but a distinction too even with the First Minister.”
