This
image of Mohammed cowering behind his father has been used around the world. It
has portrayed Israel as heartless killers of Palestinian children, causing the
western world to turn against Israel and the Muslim world to rise to avenge the
blood of this young martyr.
However, although Israel’s culpability has been assumed it has never been proved. The IDF was (too) quick to apologize for the fatality. The Palestinian Authority refused to allow an autopsy to be carried out and refused to co-operate in any investigation. So what really happened?
Nahum Shahaf, a physicist working in the optical intelligence department of the IDF collected and analysed all the available material that was shot on that day and cross checked events shot by different cameramen, from different angles. This was cross-checked against the testimonies of cameramen and other witnesses. Shahaf’s testimony was strong enough to enable charges to be pressed in the French courts against France 2 TV station for their use of the story in their report, "The Death of Little Mohammed."
There were around twenty cameramen present at the event, but the story of Mohammed’s death hinged on the testimony of just one, Abu Rahma. He later denied claiming that the IDF killed the boy and gave conflicting accounts of the alleged shooting of the ambulance driver who came to attend the boy.
The collected raw footage verified the testimony of the IDF soldiers that the IDF position was surrounded and fired upon from three sides at various times during the day. It contained no evidence to confirm Mohammed’s father’s claim that he was shot in the back by the IDF.
The unedited footage shows "victims" of IDF shooting in close proximity to crowds of onlookers and passers by who show no fear, going about talking and smiling. One victim is seen with blood running from a head wound, something which would have not been physically possible after suffering a bullet wound to the head, and he is running towards the junction – not towards cover. UN and Red Crescent ambulances arrive to assist him and he runs backwards, raising his hand as if under fire. However none of the people near him flinch or take cover.
In the area that is supposed to be under heavy IDF fire
there is an audience of close to two hundred men, teenagers and children, in
three rows, with the front row sitting on the kerb. Meanwhile, teenagers ride
past on bicycles. In another section of footage, people can be seen acting out
taking cover, while behind them there are men and children walking around and
smiling, along with a Palestinian cameraman. In other shots there are rock
throwing teenagers and armed terrorists, some uniformed, all aiming at nothing
in particular, as there is no IDF presence.
The collected footage suggests a staged event, from which material was selected and edited to tell a story of IDF brutality. The world media was supplied with material which had already been edited to the point where it was only necessary for the networks to add a condemnatory voiceover in their language before broadcasting it. German ARD TV network held an inquiry into the screening of this story and concluded that Mohammed Al Dura was not killed by the IDF. They concluded that the Palestinian and foreign journalists and UN personnel cooperated in staging an event to produce a story of the death of a Palestinian child. This material was obtained from a report by Amnon Lord, published by the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs
Another
investigation was carried out, which included building a replica of the location
on an IDF firing range and shooting at the location of the fatality from the
relevant angles with various weapons.
The implications of this investigation are even more chilling!
The line from the IDF position to the place where Mohammed Al Dura died was at an angle of thirty degrees to the wall.
This means two things.
1 Mohammed and his father would both have been protected from IDF bullets by the concrete filled barrel.
2 Shots from the IDF position would have produced glancing holes in the wall; not the clean round holes that were found.
It is known that the bullet which killed Mohammed passed straight through his body and into the wall. The line of this shot must have come from across the road, in the trees, nearly at right angles to the wall. The video footage showing the moment Mohammed was shot goes fuzzy, as if the cameraman was startled, and the sound of an automatic weapon close to the camera can be heard. This confirms that the gunman was firing from close behind the cameraman. Since the IDF forces were all pinned down in their stronghold, the killer must have been a Palestinian. The killing must have been the cold blooded creation of a "martyr" for world media consumption !
This information was gleaned from part of the World Net Daily facility, at www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=18774
The story of Mohammed's death served to inflame passions against Israel around the world and to give momentum to the Palestinian Intifada, which had started that month. The key image has since been recycled in various media, including TV advertising exhorting Palestinian children to seek martyrdom.
Those
concerned about the appalling way in which the world's media have handled the
conflict in Israel and desperate to see an authoritative challenge will be glad
to see the Second Draft
site. The site is produced by communication
professionals and gives analysis of the issues and a glossary of
terms. This will help you to understand the issues behind the media
war against Israel.
The Analysis of the propagation of the story about the death of Mohammed al Dura on this site is particularly important, since this incident has been the cause of a major escalation of world hatred of Israel. This site presents all the video evidence so that you will be able to prove to your satisfaction that the coverage was a cynical media fabrication. The evidence suggests that the 59 second piece showing the "death" of Mohammed was actually the result of 5 takes. www.seconddraft.org/selections.php?theme=5takes The site carries articles to help you understand the dynamics of media coverage. www.seconddraft.org
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