‘Avoid it without the appearance of running away’: Northern Ireland, Israel-Palestine and the use of other conflicts, 1970–86

Abstract

Abstract This article considers connections between the Northern Ireland and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, particularly claims that the Irish Republican Army and the Palestine Liberation Organization shared arms and expertise. It shows that British official investigations dismissed these allegations. The article argues that the two conflicts were linked by self-interested parties to support a politicized discourse of international terrorism, to assert perceived hierarchies of legitimacy and to advocate particular courses of action. It finds that the connection between Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was more imagined than real, but no less meaningful for that being the case.