News media framing of conflict from different perspectives: A comparative analysis of Al Jazeera and Times of Israel news coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from October 7th 2023 to January 2025.

This MA thesis offers a comparative framing analysis of English-language news coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by Al Jazeera and The Times of Israel from October 7th 2023 to January 2025. In doing so, it focuses on three case studies of key events; the October 7th 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, the International Court of Justice's interim ruling on South Africa's genocide case against Israel, and the January 2025 ceasefire agreements. Using framing theory, particularly Entman's four framing elements and concepts of selection and salience, this thesis analyses how both newspapers differ in their framing when reporting on the same events. Using a qualitative analysis, the research shows distinct differences in the way in which the two newspapers define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments, and suggest remedies. What is evident is that Al Jazeera particularly emphasises Palestinian suffering and lays the responsibility of this suffering on Israel and 'Israeli aggression'. The Times of Israel on the other hand, puts more of its emphasis on Israeli suffering during the October 7 Hamas attacks and the hostages being held in Gaza. Hamas and its 'terrorist' character is the main party held responsible by the Times of Israel for the suffering during the war. This thesis contributes to the field of framing theory and conflict journalism by addressing underexplored perspectives in English-language Israel-Palestine conflict news coverage, advocating for 'peace journalism' and a direct practical implementation of Entman's framing theory.