Israel has accused a French TV network of manipulating footage to make Israel look responsible for the September 2000 shooting death of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy.
The claims, made by a senior government official, go further than an official army investigation into the incident, and were rejected by the network, France 2. The army probe said it was highly unlikely that troops shot the boy, but did not rule out the possibility altogether or make any accusations against the French network.
Palestinians blamed Israeli troops for the death, and the incident -- which took place in the early days of the second Palestinian uprising against Israel -- has become a recurring symbol for Palestinians of excessive Israeli force.
Viewers around the world were shocked by footage the France 2 network aired on Sept. 30, 2000, showing a terrified Mohammed al-Dura and his father cowering in front of a wall amid a furious exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
In the France 2 report, the father gestured frantically to try to stop the shooting as the boy screamed in terror. The camera then cut to a shot of the motionless boy slumped in his father's lap. The report said the gunfire had come from nearby Israeli positions.
A group of Israeli lawyers, Israel Law Center, repeatedly petitioned the Israel Government Press Office to revoke France 2's press credentials based on this report.
Government Press Office director Danny Seaman denied the request, but in his response to the lawyers, accused the French network of manipulating the video footage and harming Israel.
"The events of that day were in fact staged by the network's cameraman in Gaza, Mr. Talal Abu Rahma," Seaman wrote in the Sept. 23 letter.
"Events could not have occurred as they were described by the network's reporter, Charles Enderlin, since they contradict the laws of physics," Seaman wrote.
This "blood libel," Seaman added, "inflamed the Arab world and led to many victims in Israel and across the world."
In an interview, Seaman said the direction from which Israeli troops were firing would not have allowed their bullets to strike the father and son.
The footage did not show the moment of the boy's death, he added.
Seaman did not say what, if any, additional evidence he had beyond the army probe seven years ago.
The Haaretz newspaper cited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office as saying it was not informed of Seaman's letter and that it was not officially authorized.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS