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The France 2 footage of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura and his father dodging crossfire in southern Gaza Strip on September 30, 2000 (AP) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 15:37 15/11/2007 French court examines footage of Mohammad al-Dura's death By Haaretz Service tags: Intifada, Mohammad al-Dura  PARIS - A French appeals court screened footage Wednesday of the September 2000 television report on the death of Mohammad al-Dura, in a case of defamation brought against French television channel France 2 and its correspondent in the Middle East, Charles Enderlin. The disturbing images of Mohammed al-Dura's death were shown around the world seven years ago. In the France-2 report, the boy and his father cower in front of a wall amid a furious exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza. The report shows the father gesturing to try to stop the shooting - then cuts to a shot of the motionless boy slumped in his father's lap. The report said the gunfire had come from nearby Israeli positions, though the circumstances remain in dispute. Advertisement On November 22, 2004, Phillipe Karsenty, a 41-year-old French Jew and a well-to-do financial consultant, wrote on his Web site, Media Ratings (www.m-r.fr), which surveys the French media, that al-Dura's death had been staged and that France 2's conduct "disgraces France and its public broadcasting system." A few weeks later France 2 and Enderlin sued him for defamation. Two years later Karsenty was found guilty and was required to pay a symbolic sum of 1 euro in compensation (in addition to 3,000 euros for trial expenses). That same day, Karsenty filed an appeal, and the court has taken up the case this week, with the judge demanding to examine the full footage of the al-Dura report before deciding whether Karsenty was guilty of defamation or not. France-2 and Karsenty could not immediately be reached for comment about the court order. The IDF declined earlier this week to say why it was seeking the material from the French network. Enderlin explained in court each segment of the 18-minute footage- filmed on September 30, 2000 by his cameraman Talal Abu Rahma at Netzarim junction while Enderlin was in Ramallah- the street battles with dozens of people throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at an IDF outpost, an interview with a Fatah official, and the incident involving Mohammed al-Dura and his father in the last minute of the video. Karsenty challenged Enderlin's explanations. "The boy moved his head after we heard the cameraman say he was dead. How do you explain this?" asked Karsenty. "Why is there no blood on their shirts although they had bullet wounds?" Enderlin said that Talal Abu Rahma did not say that the boy had died, but that he was dying. The journalist maintained that only the Israelis shot at the al-Duras, explaining that he could hear the difference between the shooting of the Israeli rubber bullets and Palestinian regular ones. Karsenty repeated several troubling details. He pointed out that an article by senior journalists Denis Jeambar and Daniel Leconte in 2004 noted some staged scenes filmed by Abu Rahma in the first part of the footage, which they had examined at French TV studios with former le Monde journalist Luc Rosenzweig. Jeambar and Leconte called on French TV to launch its own internal inquiry, citing a possible lack of journalistic standards, but did not not share the theory of a possible staging of al-Dura's death. "The al-Dura report has had terrible consequences, causing hate against Israel and Jews," Karsenty told Haaretz. "We have to repair the damage now, before it's too late." Tension was high in the courtroom Wednesday, and some pro and anti-Enderlin militants were arguing loudly, causing some commotion. Dozens of Jewish bloggers were present at the courthouse. Serge Kovacs, a friend and co-worker of Enderlin, said Enderlin was falsely accused and has become a "new Dreyfuss." Enderlin told journalists that there was no new "affair," and suggested they come to the next hearing on February 28. Karsenty said that he intends to counter-attack French TV by pointing out that they only presented 18 minutes out of the 27 minutes Abu Rahma originally claimed to have shot. Related articles: Mohammed al-Dura lives on IDF demands French footage of 2000 shooting of Palestinian boy Bookmark to del.icio.us War speculations An aide to Sharon says the ex-PM wouldn't have sent ground troops to Lebanon. Nuclear inspection An IAEA report concludes Iran is generally truthful but still defying UN demands.   1.   Medias Praseology and Distortion to Reflect Propaganda 06:13  |  Joseph E . 15/11/07   2.   They exploit the Medias and arabs natural and human resources 06:17  |  Joseph E . 15/11/07   3.   Arabs hatred against the Jewish State , 06:18  |  Joseph E . 15/11/07   4.   Arabs have every right to hate a criminal state 06:39  |  Joe 15/11/07   5.   to joe 07:41  |  scallywag 15/11/07   6.   JOE ARABS have every right to lie to create criminal image? 08:17  |  PETER S.M. 15/11/07   7.   ANALYSIS of footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWQcRd_Mg60 08:25  |  PETER SM 15/11/07   8.   "JOE" Taqiyya .. 08:35  |  PETER S.M. 15/11/07   9.   The reporter is clearly not familiar with the case. 08:54  |  Jonathan Levy 15/11/07   10.   #4 Joe; Its correct, the European hated Nazi inviders, except ... 09:02  |  Haham me Bat Yam 15/11/07   11.   Bravo Karsenty a true freedom fighter of pallywood 09:24  |  don 15/11/07   12.   Where does the Pallywood movie show Israelis firing? 10:13  |  PETER S .M. 15/11/07   13.   I Watched The Coverage 10:26  |  Yosemite 15/11/07   14.   Forever.... 10:42  |  Esther 15/11/07   15.   This is why the IDF shhots cameramen 11:03  |  Natallie Durson 15/11/07   16.   Charles Enderlin track record 11:05  |  Philippe Netter 15/11/07   17.   Exhume the body of Al Dura 12:19  |  Nora 15/11/07   18.   Everyone ... 12:31  |  Axel 15/11/07   19.   Philippe Netter - Newsflash 12:35  |  SA 15/11/07   20.   Allow only reliable news sources 12:46  |  Alex 15/11/07   21.   Nora 13:08  |  Israeli 15/11/07   22.   What is the definition of biased? 13:12  |  Chris Linthwaite 15/11/07   23.   Israel has slaughtered over a thousand children 13:16  |  Mahmoud 15/11/07   24.   al-Dura`s case 13:18  |  Ralph 15/11/07   25.   NDURSON Your brother was there filming fairy tales 13:25  |  PETER S.M. 15/11/07   26.   Alex re HOT 13:29  |  ChanahS 15/11/07   27.   HOW TO REPAIR THE HURTED FEELINGS ! 13:35  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 15/11/07   28.   # 18 Axel 13:44  |  Lynn 15/11/07   29.   # 23 Mahmoud 14:01  |  Lynn 15/11/07   30.   Atilla Liman the Greek,no love for you until you leave Cyprus 02:16  |  Genuine Tosefta 16/11/07   31.   Yosemite # 13 & Philippe Netter 02:31  |  Philippe 16/11/07   32.   Philippe Netter # 16 02:35  |  Philippe 16/11/07   33.   Situation in Gaza today because Arabs kill own children Al-Dura 03:17  |  Genuine Tosefta 16/11/07   34.   Genuine Tosefta # 33 06:43  |  Philippe 16/11/07   35.   Haham me Bat Yam # 10 07:18  |  Philippe 16/11/07

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