Introduction

On March 14, 2006, a sizeable Israeli force broke into the prison compound in Jericho, partially destroying it and arresting its inhabitants. Television stations from around the world broadcast live pictures of dozens of Palestinian men in their underwear looking defeated and humiliated.1 This report examines media coverage of the action in Jericho from March 14 to March 17 in the three major Israeli newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth, Ma’ariv and Ha’aretz, and in the three major nightly television newscasts on Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10. As we shall see, in the first day following the action the entire Israeli media united to justify the Israeli action and debase the Palestinian side in an extraordinary display of national pride. On the second day, the television newscasts tried to raise some critical questions that begged to be asked. The newspapers, for their part, continued to emphasize the victory celebration.

The first day’s coverage: “fast and elegant”

In the first day following the action, as recounted above, the media showed a sense of unity and pride. For example, in a front-page commentary in Yedioth Ahronoth on March 15, under the headline A MOMENT OF NATIONAL PRIDE military affairs commentator Alex Fishman wrote: “We can momentarily put aside the cynicism and chatter of the elections. We have the right to be proud today. There are decisions that are cornerstones in building the national ethos […]” This mood dominated the Israeli media coverage, as indicated by the following examples:

• GOT THEM (Ma’ariv, March 15, 2006, main headline and caption accompanying pages 2-8).
• ACCOUNT CLOSED (Yedioth Ahronoth, March 15, 2006, main headline and caption, pages 2-6).
• IDF PRESENTS: JUDGMENT DAY (Ma’ariv, March 15, 2006, main headline, pages 2-3).
• FAST AND ELEGANT (Ma’ariv, March 15, 2006, page 3).

“Haim, first of all there is no action more justified than this one, I think you will agree with me on that…” (Correspondent Yoav Limor at the beginning of Channel 1 newscast on March 14, 2006).

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