As recorded in part one of this post, between July 1st and September 30th 2017, fifty-eight reports relating to Israel and/or the Palestinians appeared on the BBC News website’s Middle East page, some of which were cross posted from other sections of the site and one of which was carried over from the previous quarter. 29.3% of those reports covered stories relating to security/terrorism.
The remaining articles can be grouped into a number of categories. (The dates in brackets represent the period of time in which each report was available to visitors to the website’s Middle East page.)
Two reports related to historical subject matter:
Mosaic from 1,500 years ago discovered in Jerusalem (23/8/17 to 30/8/17)
Palestinian cartoonist’s 1987 murder reinvestigated (29/8/17 to 31/8/17)
Two reports can be categorised as miscellaneous:
Jerusalem’s ‘cat lady’ crossing boundaries (8/8/17 to 21/8/17)
World’s oldest man, Auschwitz survivor Yisrael Kristal dies (11/8/17 to 15/8/17)
16 reports (27.5%) related to Israeli diplomatic/international relations and/or political aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict – with two of those concerning the BDS campaign’s failed efforts to prevent a concert in Israel.
Narendra Modi becomes first Indian PM to visit Israel (4/7/17 to 5/7/17) discussed here
India and Israel pledge to combat terrorism (5/7/17 to 7/7/17)
Unesco declares Hebron’s Old City Palestinian World Heritage site (7/7/17 to 10/7/17) discussed here
Radiohead on Israel gig: “Playing a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government” Mark Savage (12/7/17 to 15/7/17) discussed here
Netanyahu in Paris to commemorate Vel d’Hiv deportation of Jews (16/7/17 to 17/7/17) discussed here and here
Netanyahu: EU’s policy towards Israel is ‘crazy’ (19/7/17 to 20/7/17)
Radiohead defy critics to play Israel Mark Savage (20/7/17 to 22/7/17)
Israel and Jordan in diplomatic standoff after embassy deaths (24/7/17) discussed here
Israeli embassy staff home after Amman standoff (24/7/17 to 26/7/17) discussed here
Palestinian-Israeli contact to stay frozen, says Abbas (25/7/17 to 27/7/17)
EU top court keeps Hamas on terror blacklist (26/7/17 to 27/7/17) discussed here
Jordan’s King Abdullah calls for Israel trial over embassy deaths (27/7/17 to 30/7/17) discussed here
Iran footballers break Israel sporting ‘taboo’ BBC Monitoring (4/8/17 to 17/8/17)
Anger over Netanyahu silence on Trump and Charlottesville (17/8/17 to 27/8/17) discussed here
Iran building missile factories in Syria and Lebanon – Netanyahu (28/8/ 17 to 31/8/17) discussed here and here
Interpol approves Palestinian membership despite Israeli opposition (27/9/17 to 29/9/17) discussed here
Three reports (5.17%) related to Palestinian affairs:
The Palestinian dessert few can enjoy BBC Travel (3/8/17 to 6/8/17) discussed here
Palestinian Authority ‘detains rights activist over criticism’ (6/9/17 to 9/9/17) discussed here
Hamas says it is ready to hold first elections since 2006 (17/9/17 to 20/9/17) discussed here
The 18 reports (31% of the total) concerning Israeli affairs can be divided into sub categories including:
a) reports relating to legal and/or criminal issues:
Ehud Olmert, Israel’s jailed ex-PM, to be released early (29/6/17 to 2/7/17)
Ehud Olmert, Israel’s jailed ex-PM, is released early (2/7/17 to 3/7/17) discussed here
Jesus ‘miracle church’: Jewish extremist found guilty of arson (3/7/17 to 4/7/17) discussed here
Drone ‘threat’ to planes over Israel (17/7/17 to 18/7/17)
Israeli steals Auschwitz items for student art project (19/7/17 to 20/7/17)
Israeli soldier who killed wounded Palestinian attacker loses appeal (30/7/17 to 2/8/17)
Netanyahu ex-aide Ari Harow ‘to testify against him’ (4/8/17 to 6/8/17)
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s wife ‘facing fraud charges’ (8/9/17 to 12/9/17)
Israel bomb hoax suspect ‘mentally ill’ – parents (11/9/17 to 20/9/17)
b) society:
The female director who was issued a fatwa for her first film BBC Entertainment (3/9/17 to 21/9/17)
c) domestic news/politics:
Israeli Labour Party elects political newcomer Avi Gabbay (10/7/17 to 12/7/17)
Israeli PM prevents border ‘punch-up’ between firebrand MPs (2/8/17 to 4/8/17)
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s son in social media row over dog poo (4/8/17 to 6/8/17)
Al Jazeera: Israel seeks to shut offices and take network off air (5/8/17 to 8/8/17) discussed here
Israel decision to revoke attacker’s citizenship condemned (7/8/17 to 9/8/17) discussed here
Israel evicts Palestinians after East Jerusalem legal battle (5/9/17 to 7/9/17) discussed here
Ultra-Orthodox Israeli MP ‘quits’ amid gay wedding criticism (13/9/17 to 14/9/17) discussed here
d) science and technology:
Dov Moran: The man behind the memory stick (24/7/17 to 28/7/17)
As was the case throughout 2016 and in the first two quarters of 2017, (see ‘related articles’ below) Israeli domestic affairs once again received much greater coverage (31%) than did Palestinian affairs (5.17%) in the third quarter of 2017.
During the first three quarters of 2017 security related reports accounted for 15% of the BBC News website’s articles pertaining to Israel and/or the Palestinians. 31.5% of the coverage related to Israeli affairs while internal Palestinian affairs were the topic of just 8.2% of the articles. The subject most frequently covered in BBC reporting continues to be international relations and conflict politics.
Related Articles:
Reviewing BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians in Q3 2017 – part one
Reviewing BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians in Q2 2017 – part two
Reviewing BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians in Q2 2017 – part one
Reviewing BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians in Q1 2017 – part one
Reviewing BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians in Q1 2017 – part two
Reviewing BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians in Q4 2016 – part two (includes links to previous reports)
