Sinn Féin will not attend White House for St Patrick's Day

Sinn Féin will not be attending St Patrick's Day events at the White House this year, Mary Lou McDonald has said.

The party president confirmed the move on social media on Monday.

"The situation on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank remains dire. Israeli attacks on Gaza have not ended. The genocide continues," she said.

"It is important that Sinn Féin uses its voice to demand that international law is upheld and peace and justice prevail."

It is the second year Sinn Féin has boycotted St Patrick's Day events at the White House.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly had already said she will be making the trip to Washington DC.

"Ties between the people of Ireland and the United States are very important," McDonald added.

"As a party, we have deep and enduring bonds with that go back decades. These relationships were critical in the peace process and in the campaign for Irish re-unification.

"Those relationships will continue," she said.

Little-Pengelly said she will be attending the White House to "turn up and show up" and "champion" Northern Ireland.

"It gives us almost unprecedented opportunity to meet with what is the most powerful administration in the world."

"And also to engage constructively with businesses, with politicians and with key people of influence in the US throughout the week."

But she refused to drawn on the decision by O'Neill to boycott the gathering again this year.

She said there was "only so many times people will close that door before they will realise they are trying to go back and open it... that door then remains closed to them".

"To me this is about engaging with somebody who holds the office of President. It isn't about the particular political views that person has.

"No more than people who engage with the first minister agree perhaps with her personal, political views.

"I am certainly not naive, I know that when people engage with me as deputy first minister, they're not necessarily engaging with me because they agree with my political views but (they engage) because of the office that I hold."

The deputy first minister was also asked about posing for photographs with a President who accused British soldiers of staying away from the front line in the war in Afghanistan.

She said: "We made clear we disagreed with the President then."

When asked if she plans to challenge the President over the comments she said: "I will take this opportunity to tell a positive story about Northern Ireland about investments from the US and what we can do to improve collaboration and bring more jobs."

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said she had taken time to consider her approach to the White House this year.

"In terms of the context in which I took the decision not to go last year, that case remains, I don't see any difference in terms of any improvements in the lives of Palestinian people," she said.

"What we see is indiscriminate fire day after day, what we see is people being displaced from their homes, what we see is an international community that continues to turn its head.

"For me this is about humanity, this is about doing the right thing, this is about using my voice and platform to stand up for those people who are facing this genocide day after day."

She said the "situation in Gaza remains so serious that this is not the time in which to engage in the St Patrick's celebrations in the White House".