“6 Minutes… in 45 Minutes Shooting on the Boy…”

Interviewed by Esther Schapira a year after the Al Durah incident Talal Abu Rahma, France2’s Palestinian photojournalist, recalls how much film he shot from the 45 minute period over which he alleged that the Israelis targeted Mohammed Al Durah specifically as the Al Durahs as they huddled by the wall at Netzarim Junction on September 30, 2000.

  • Problem 1: Internal Inconsistency – Soon after the incident, in sworn testimony before the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, on October 3, 2000 Abu Rahma stated: “I spent approximately 27 minutes photographing the incident which took place for 45 minutes.” However, Abu Rahma’s actual video footage of the the Al Durahs by the wall is approximately 78 seconds in length; nowhere near even the 6 minutes he says he filmed, here. France2’s broadcast about 59 seconds of that scene – cutting the crucial last seconds when Mohammed lifts his arm to peek out at the camera. Look again at Abu Rahma’s raw footage of the incident on the first page of the Evidence section.
  • Problem 2: Internal inconsistency – In other testimony during the same interview Abu Rachma insisted that the Israelis targeted the Al Durahs for 28 minutes, not 45.
  • Problem 3: External inconsistency – The Israeli post was 80 meters from the Al Durahs. How likely is it that Israeli sharpshooters firing high velocity weapons at overlapping stationary targets from a distance of 80 meters would require 45 minutes of constant firing to kill one person and not even manage to mortally wound the second? Ask any soldier with battle experience how long it would take to hit a stationary target at 80 meters. It takes seconds.
  • Problem 4. External inconsistency – How likely is it that Israeli sharpshooters would focus consistently for 45 minutes on a target located 30 degrees away from the Palestinian position from which fire was emanating toward the Israeli post?