Between Belfast and Gaza: Lessons from Northern Ireland for Palestinians

Written by: Dr. Samah Jabr

Northern Ireland experienced a bloody three-decade conflict, known as "The Troubles," which claimed approximately 3,300 lives among a population of less than two million, leaving a legacy of incalculable pain and psychological scars. The roots of this conflict date back to the British colonial era, but it reached its peak in the late 1960s, when tensions escalated between the Catholic community, which demanded unity with the Republic of Ireland, and the Protestant community, which insisted on remaining under the British crown. The conflict was complex: sectarian, political, and colonial, fueled by social grievances and profound inequalities in rights, opportunities, and the vote.

The confrontation took many forms. It began with peaceful protests demanding equality, which were met with violence such as the Bloody Sunday violence, which left 13 demonstrators dead. It then evolved into an armed struggle led by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). This conflict was marked by security crackdowns and mass arrests, including those of children. The conflict officially ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998, which established new, more equitable rules for power-sharing and the release of security detainees. It redefined the relationship between the various communities in Northern Ireland, and established a mechanism for reconciliation and transitional justice.

While the US government boasts that it sponsored this historic agreement during the Clinton administration, Palestine remains mired in a conflict that is more complex, bloodier, longer, and more consequential, and unfortunately less urgent on the international community's agenda. Despite the apparent differences, the similarities between the two situations reveal learning possibilities—for those who are willing.

Similarities and intersections

Both conflicts arose within a colonial context that sowed division and exacerbated conflicting identities. In Northern Ireland, British authorities practiced discriminatory policies against Catholics in employment, education, and housing, while Palestinians lived under dual legal systems that privileged Israeli settlers at the expense of the country's indigenous population.

Likewise, in both cases, armed resistance emerged as a last resort to chronic injustice: the IRA took up arms after the political horizon had been blocked, just as Palestinian resistance factions have done after the marginalization of Palestinian grievances and the encroachment of the occupation over the past decades. Each reacted according to its own context. The two colonial powers—Britain in Belfast and Israel in the Palestinian territories—resorted to similar techniques of repression: administrative detention, torture, the use of excessive force, and the criminalization of all expressions of protest. Just as Bobby Sand resisted the injustice of Margaret Thatcher's government and died on a hunger strike, Palestinian prisoners resisted Netanyahu's government, and the venerable Sheikh Khader Adnan died on a hunger strike during Ben-Gvir's rule of Israeli prisons.

But there are also fundamental differences. The conflict in Northern Ireland ended with a political settlement that ensured everyone remained on their land and respected the fundamental rights of oppressed groups. In Palestine, however, the conflict with Israel is not simply a dispute over power or social rights, but rather a struggle for existence itself, as settler colonialism sought to displace Palestinians and strip them of their land and history.

Western society has treated the Irish issue as a solvable crisis, exerting constructive pressure and providing a guarantee for agreement. Meanwhile, it has treated the Palestinian issue with a reprehensible double standard, turning a blind eye to injustice and aggression, and granting immunity to the aggressor. As long as racism, Islamophobia, and Western colonial interests in the region obscure the US and European administrations' view of our suffering, we must reject their mediation and rely on the countries of the South, such as South Africa, Brazil, and some Arab and Islamic countries, to be sponsors of future peace negotiations.

long-term psychological impact

The conflict in Northern Ireland has had profound psychological effects that persist to this day, with statistics indicating higher rates of mental illness, alcoholism, and suicide than in neighboring countries. A generation grew up in an environment of chronic violence, amidst the fear of bombings, the trauma of losing loved ones, and a lack of trust in the ruling authorities. After the agreement, it took a painstaking effort to heal: psychological support programs, dialogues between victims and perpetrators, and the integration of memory into educational curricula to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy.

This is a lesson we must learn in Palestine: the political peace process is no substitute for the social peace process, that trauma does not disappear with the end of violence and bloodshed, and that peacebuilding is not limited to politics, but rather requires profound healing of psychological pain and reconciliation with oneself and history.

In Gaza today, with every escape from death, a new story of trauma is brought to life. The horrific images, the loss of loved ones, and the ongoing deprivation all shape a generation bearing scars that may later transform into anger, withdrawal, or utter despair. Healing begins with ending the injustice, acknowledging the suffering, providing possible compensation, and allowing Palestinians to be agents of their own destiny, not just recipients of aid.

We also learn from the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement the following:

1. No peace without justice: The Irish Agreement recognized past injustices and established mechanisms to compensate victims, which must be part of any Palestinian solution.

2. Reconciliation does not mean forgetting: The files of victims, detainees, and violations were opened, not to inflame the situation, but to heal the wounds. This is what Palestine needs, instead of a culture of silence, fear, and forced normalization of pain.

3. Civil society is a key partner in addressing the effects of violence: In Ireland, churches, youth groups, and women played a crucial role in peacemaking. In Palestine, the role of community forces must be expanded to participate in community recovery and building the liberation project.

Undoubtedly, the conflict in Northern Ireland was less violent and complex, but it found its way to a settlement when international political will combined with the possibility of achieving what could not be achieved without armed struggle through negotiations. Then, the pain became an incentive to build a future. In Palestine, the pain and injustice that Western policy ignores remain fuel for the continued struggle, waiting for the world to act to defuse the situation.

We may not soon sign a "Good Friday"-like agreement, but we need a just Friday, a ceasefire that will lift the oppressed from the tunnel of violence to the horizon of dignified negotiations, and from the era of occupation to the implementation of international law and human rights principles.