15 November 2007

Ressurection of Muhammad Al Durrah?

(An addendum to that excellent compilation by Soccer Dad.)

The case of Muhammad Al Durrah, the Gazan boy allegedly killed by IDF during a stone-throwing episode and made into a symbol of Intifada, is slowly unraveling, it seems. The raw footage of the "27 minutes" fame was seen in the court for the first time (although - see the above link in Wiki - a few independent journalists viewed it with quite an unequivocal conclusion).

From JP:

Toward the end, the footage appeared to show Dura briefly putting his hand to his forehead to check what was happening around him, and moving his leg.
More interesting findings in a Russian source (Google translation):
The original video recording showed that after 15 minutes of recording in which Palestinians stoned Israeli military, the boy lying on his father's knees raises his head. That was the frame that forced Karsenty to sue, arguing that the coverage does not contain any evidence of the death of the child.

In the original frames a scrap of red cloth could be seen on the boy's body, likely to be mistaken for blood. Karsenty argues that it is a usual trick used by Palestinians for the simulation of killing or wounding.

At one point, the father cries: "The boy was killed!", But after that Muhammad ad-Dur looks alive. After the viewing Enderlin said that the father warned that his son may be dying.

Moreover, the judges have not been able to understand where have disappeared nine more minutes of the original recording. Karsenty left the courtroom with a smile on his face. "Everyone knows that, it was 27 minutes. I wonder where the remaining 9 minutes are", he said.

According to Karsenty, videotape does not contain a single frame evidencing that the Israeli military fired: "The Palestinian reporter claims that there were 45 wounded, while the film shows only one person, wounded in the leg. Boy covers the abdomen with a red scrap. They cut the film . France 2 is beginning to understand that it becomes a laughingstock. "
It is early days so far, but we may be witnessing an unmaking of a myth here.

Cross-posted on Yourish.com.

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