IDF demands France 2 video of al-Dura shooting
The IDF request comes in the midst of a legal battle between the network and its Israel reporter Charles Enderlin, and French media monitor Philippe Karsenty, who claims France 2 manipulated the video to make it appear that IDF soldiers shot al-Dura. France 2 brought a libel suit against Karsenty and won at trial, but he has appealed the verdict and expects a ruling within days.
The Palestinians turned al-Dura into a leading symbol of the armed intifada and a model of child martyrdom for other Palestinian youths.
"The IDF is dealing directly with the network on the issue," an IDF spokeswoman told Haaretz on Monday, without explaining why the army had made the request.
The Palestinians blamed the IDF for the boy's death and the IDF quickly apologized, but a military investigation later concluded that the boy was probably shot dead in a Palestinian crossfire. A local Arab cameraman, Talal Abu Rahma, shot the video for the French network, which widely distributed only 55 seconds of the 27 minutes of film taken.
Among the evidence pointing to Palestinian culpability is the angle of fire and use of automatic weapons, both of which indicate a unit of six IDF soldiers besieged in a nearby pillbox at Netzarim Junction were not responsible for al-Dura's death on September 30, 2000.
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