Muhammed al Dura

Many of you are undoubtedly unfamiliar with the name above but will remember the incident with which he is associated.

What is known as the "second intifada" or, according to the so called Palestinians, and Yassir Arafat, "The AL Aqsa Intifada" began after Ariel Sharon announced his intention to visit the Temple Mount.

This was before Sharon became Prime Minister, and in fact, was a political move to get his name back in the public eye for the next election, which of course, he won.

The Temple Mount is Israeli territory, but Israel granted religious authority over it to the Muslim Waqf, or commission, that had been in place before the Six Day War, even after the freeing of Jerusalem, in order to both demonstrate its commitment to religious equality and freedom and as an offering of good faith.

At various times non Muslims have not been allowed up there by the Waqf. I have been lucky enough to have been there and been in the Dome of the Rock.

Sharon's visit ignited a firestorm. It started immediately with so called Palestinians raining rocks down on the Jewish worshippers at the "Kotel" or Wall, below the mount.

Riots broke out all over Israel, Gaza and the West Bank territories. Violence was endemic as the peace loving so called Palestinians protested a Jews right to be there. After all, according to the Muslim world, there never was a temple there, so no 10 commandments, no Kings David or Solomon, no Jesus and the money changers, etc. Strange, as these men are all considered prophets by the Quran, but lets not quibble over facts, shall we?

In the most famous incident, France 2 television broadcast what was supposedly the worst horror. A young boy, Muhammed Al Dura, was supposedly caught in crossfire between IDF troops and rioting Palestinians.

He ans his father were allegedly shot, and the boy killed.

Later, there were scenes of mass mourning and rioting over this incident, and video of Al Dura's funeral was shown.

As is ALWAYS the case when civilians are killed the IDF initiated an investigation.

Initially, they were reticence to announce the results of their investigation. Why? Because it revealed that Al Dura could not have been killed by Israeli bullets (no autopsy is allowed by Muslims). He was not in a position to be exposed to Israeli gun fire, which may not have even been present at this particular scene. But the IDF position, in a building several hundred yards from where Al Dura and his father sat, supposedly cowering, was not even visible from the IDF post.

So, the IDF was in a difficult situation. Reveal the results of it's investigation and continue the incredible violence that had erupted over the incident, having no one believe them anyway, or obfuscate and simply state that they did not believe that it could have happened but that they would ensure that it would never happen again.

The rioting, and suicide bombers continued to overwhelm Israel until the combination of the initial building of the fence, targeted assasinations, the death of Arafat and the election of Sharon as Prime Minister.

During this time however, an interesting phenomena was being noted by media watchers in the region.

It became known as "Pallywood".

The initial incident that caused some in the press to question Palestinian versions of events was among the most comical.

During what was supposed to be a funeral procession, the men carrying the pyre were so involved in their acting grief stricken that they dropped the allegedly dead body. Since they were being filmed by a press helicopter, they panicked and ran.

Imagine the surprise of all involved when the corpse also panicked, got up and ran away. A Miracle!!

As investigators looked further into these incidents, and alleged Israel atrocities, more and more of these staged events came out.

So finally, the events surrounding the Al Dura incident began to come to life.

It turned out, others, besides the France 2 cameraman had taken footage of the incident. What was seen on this footage was strange to say the least.

First, was a similar incident to the funeral that I just mentioned. Here, a man was being evacuated to an ambulance after supposedly being shot in the leg. He strangely uses this leg by climbing off the stretcher, to get into the ambulance, and then is seen again later in the video, back in the "crowd" (extras) running around with no sign of injury.

Just before the Al Dura incident, there is video of what looks like a director yelling for various "takes" of the crowd running, and a man firing machine gun bursts into a hole which would later be seen directly behind Al Dura and his father's position. IF that were the case, the Israelis would have been in position behind the so called Palestinians, not in front firing at Al Dura.

The video then shows that same area with this crowd laughing and milling around moments after this "firefight".

There is also the usual suspect of ambulances seeming to be ever present at what was supposed to be a spontaneous outbreak of violence. Ready at a moments notice to pick up "victims". Of course, once filled with the supposedly injured, they never actually go anywhere, but rather the "victims" get out so that they can be in the next "scene" and the ambulance is at the ready for the next take.

There are numerous other incidents on the videos that were also obviously staged.

Additional footage from the France 2 camerman was obtained and it appeared to contain much the same staged events.

It was then discovered that the camerman, like most "journalists" who provide the stories that you read about, was not an employee of France 2, but rather a freelancer well known for these fabrications.

Israel did not press the issue, feeling that they could not win in the court of public opinion. Even when the boy that was allegedly Muhammed Al Dura was seen alive. And no proof that there was ever anyone of this name.

Now, many years later, an interesting law suit in France is reaching it's conclusion.

An allegation against France 2 received support in the French courts. The Justices hearing the case have now ordered France 2 to release the raw footage shot that day to the justices for review.

They have, to now, found against the station.

The only problem is that the justices may be unaware of the fabrications of the camerman and may not be able to pick them up (I admit that upon first viewing it is difficult as it is a staged gun battle with a lot of people running and screaming. It is only when you look that you see these things).

However, it is an indication that they do believe France 2 was complicit in a fabrication.

In addition, Israel has now finally stated unequivocally that the IDF had no involvement in the boys death. If there was indeed a death.

Hooray for Pallywood, hooray for Pallywood...