Hegemonic securitisations of terrorism and the legitimacy of Palestinian government

Abstract

As in most intra-state conflicts, particularly ones between states and ethnic/religious groups over sovereignty, the conflicting Israeli and Palestinian securitisation processes produce different versions of the same reality. For the state, the group fighting for its independence and sovereignty is labelled a ‘terrorist organisation’ and the attacks organised by this group are securitised as ‘terrorist attacks’. On the other hand, a group that is fighting for its rights or independence calls itself a ‘liberation movement’. Even at the international level there is no consensus on the definition of terrorist organisations and liberation movements. In this paper this dilemma will be illustrated by the Israeli – Palestinian case analysed in the light of the Israeli and American-led international discourses regarding the nature of the current Palestinian leadership.