Coverage of the First and Second Intifada

Various authors on the media coverage of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict assert that it is biased and unbalanced. This study focuses on the representation of the First and Second Intifada in Flemish daily newspapers. It combines a content analysis with in-depth interviews with journalists to investigate any imbalance and bias in favour of the Israeli point of view. The results reveal a certain evolution and some divergence in the coverage of the two Intifadas. The study shows that while some variables are in favour of the Israeli point of view, others clearly reflect the Palestinian perspective. The study therefore does not support the hypothesis of a pro-Israeli bias in Flemish daily newspapers. They are found to cover the First and Second Intifada in a rather balanced way, in contrast to the conclusions reached by other international studies on the coverage of the Israeli– Palestinian conflict.