THE LANGUAGE OF CONFLICT: A TRANSITIVITY-BASED DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE WAR

Abstract

The conflict has extended beyond the battlefield, the war has manifested in discursive struggles on international platforms, including the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where competing narratives of legitimacy, victimhood, and statehood are advanced. This paper analyzes the language used by PM Netanyahu and President Abbas at the 79 th session of UNGA held in September 2024. The paper draws upon Fairclough’s (2013) CDA and Halliday’s (2004) Transitivity Analysis, as suggested by Schleppegrell (2013) and O’Grady (n.d), to investigate identity building in the speeches given by the two heads of state by looking at their transitivity system. The findings of the research reveal that on one hand Israel though tries to establish its identity as peace-makers and truth bearers by signaling that whatever atrocities it does are a reaction against the militants of Hamas to maintain the peaceful order of the world; on the other hand, the Palestine equally situates itself as a peace-maker but specifically signals as the victim of Israel and not of any other militant group. It clearly negates initiating any crimes, even in the name of maintaining world order.