A BELFAST City Council committee chair has defended a decision to stop a council official from going on a trade mission to Israel.
A majority of members of the Growth and Regeneration Committee voted against the proposed trip on Wednesday night.
The trip in late July had planned to include delegates from the council, Invest NI and Catalyst Inc.
Councillors from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit opposed it on grounds of "ethical trading".
DUP committee member Guy Spence claimed the parties had "succumbed to the pressure of the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement" against Israel.
Sinn Féin's Deirdre Hargey, who chairs the committee, told BBC's Talkback members felt the trip was "inappropriate".
She said a proposal to support the BDF movement is due to go before the council on July 1.
"There have been numerous UN violations of sanctions perpetrated against the Palestinian people," she said.
"What we're trying to do in terms of ethical trading as a council is to look at all of those issues."
