In the Aida refugee camp, just outside Bethlehem, murals on the walls make reference to the daily reality for local residents.

“Here, only [a] tiger can survive,” reads text beside a painted tiger, its mouth open in a roar. “Here, only butterflies and birds are free,” says another.

One mural lists the 22 villages from which the camp’s residents were originally displaced during what is known to Palestinians as the 1948 Nakba, or “catastrophe”.

The Irish Tricolour also appears in multiple locations, including a heart-shaped version beside a Palestinian flag heart. A recent addition to the walls is a mural to Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap, who have been consistently vocal in their support for Palestine. Kneecap have also helped over the years in other ways, including through their fundraising for the ACLAÍ Palestine gym, which opened here in 2020. Its founder is Ainle Ó Cairealláin (40) – the brother of Kneecap member Naoise, also known as Móglaí Bap.

Ó Cairealláin’s first trip to the occupied West Bank was in 2018, when he took part in the annual summer camp which the Lajee community centre holds for international visitors interested in volunteering and learning more about the conditions that Palestinians live under.

He says he felt an immediate “familiarity” upon arrival, which he believes came from growing up in west Belfast. One thing he recognised was seeing a community take charge and set things up for themselves “out of necessity”, he says.

In Belfast, “the school I went to, the cultural centre, the theatre, the sports club, were set up by the communit