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Global changes in the 1990s marked the beginning of a new era in the Middle East politics, and in the Israeli-Palestinian relations. It led to the Oslo peace process, culminating in the historic Declaration of Principles signed on 1993. This entailed the mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization and changed perceptions towards the enemy as reflected by the Israeli news media discourses. The dramatic event marked a significant shift in Jewish history, and was defined in this study as a transitory breakpoint, accompanied by a national breakpoint. The former enemy was portrayed as a partner for peace and was replaced by a domestic political enemy. The controversy created by the cognitive dissonance between security and peace discourses had a profound impact on Israeli politics and national identity. The pattern of changes resembled a see-saw model validated by the research findings. The study stress that news reality´ reproduces attitudes of political elites especially during transitions from war to peace. proper interpretation of these representations might ultimately contribute to future media peace discourse.

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Ph.D, University of Leicester,UK. A senior lecturer at the School of Communication, Netanya Academic College, Israel. Her work contributes to media discourse in war and peace, peace journalism, Critical Media and national identity. She has presented and published articles and book chapters and involved in international research projects.

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