The New York Times reprints an International Herald Tribune article on recent challenges to the Mohammed al-Dura video footage:
Since the start of the second Palestinian uprising more than four years ago, many children have died in the gunfire. But it is the harrowing image of a terrified 12-year-old boy, shielded in vain by his father, that carries the iconic power of a battle flag…
Here, debate seethes about whether the televised footage of Muhammad al-Dura was genuine, misinterpreted or — as an American academic put it — artfully staged “Pallywood” theater…
As questions were raised, some France 2 executives privately faulted the channel’s communication. Last week, they showed The International Herald Tribune the original 27-minute tape of the incident, which also included separate scenes of rock-throwing youths.
The footage of the father and son under attack lasts several minutes, but does not clearly show the boy’s death. There is a cut in the scene that France 2 executives attribute to the cameraman’s efforts to preserve a low battery.
For more on this issue, see this HR communique.
