Europe in Palestinian Eyes: Palestinian Media Representation of the European Union’s (EU) Role during the 2014 War on Gaza

In times of war and national crises, the role of media becomes more defining as they have a considerable influence in shaping public opinion and perceptions on national issues and political actors and entities. This paper analyzes how the European Union (EU) is represented in the Palestinian media during the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza. The study draws on a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach for the analysis of news reports and opinion articles published over a two-month period by three key Palestinian media outlets, Ma’an News Agency, Felesteen and Al-Ayyam newspapers that referred to the EU in their news coverage of the war. The analysis shows that the Palestinian media projected an overall negative representation of the EU role as being complacent, reticent and ineffectual in stopping Israel’s attacks and in taking on a vigorous political role that counters US unconditional support to Israel, while they praised the European popular position supporting the Palestinians and calls for boycott of Israeli settlements. The study concludes that the Palestinian media treated the EU as one monolithic entity, yet there is need to highlight the various policy positions and contexts influencing the EU institutions and member states. A nuanced treatment of the EU is necessary to better assess EU policies and to point to the consequences of an ineffectual and irresponsive EU role on Palestinian just demands and rights.