The tape revealed. Al Dura Part IV

Yesterday in court in France, the tape of the Muhammed Al Dura incident was finally played.

When the incident was originally aired in 2000, kicking off an unprecedented wave of violence between the Israelis and so called Palestinians, approximately 30 seconds of tape was aired.

The iconic photo, displayed here and on a previous entry, was plastered all over the world on every magazine and newspaper cover.

Worse, it was used in every jihadist call in the middle east and is still used by Al Qaeda, Hizbollah and others to generate additional numbers of "shaheed".

The court in the current libel case demanded that France 2 submit the full rushes shot that day. Roughly 32 minutes of film as could best be determined by experts based on a combination of testimony from a few journalists who had seen the original footage, the journalist Charles Enderlin, who "narrated" the original report from the comfort of Jerusalem - pretending to be present there that day; the cameraman, a resident of Gaza, and executives of France 2.

France 2 agreed to the judges demand only to release 27 minutes of film.

Then, in the last 2 weeks or so, rumours began to circulate that only 18 minutes would be shown.

Those that sought the truth began to fear that the film would be edited in such a way as to categorically disprove the allegations of fakery.

Or worse, that the "death throes" of the 12 year old would now be shown since Enderlin had originally claimed that he had not included them because they were too horrible to watch.

Well, yesterday in court, the 18 minutes were shown.

And what was seen? Death throes of a 12 year old? No

Conclusive evidence that the Israelis had killed him, or anyone? No

Film of Israeli soldiers firing their weapons at ANYONE, not even the boy, but anyone? No

Explanation for why the fatal shots, if there were any, came from over the shoulder of the cameraman, where only Gazans stood? No

Video of blood on the ground, or wall where the boy was allegedly shot and which had been notoriously absent from the original film? No

Footage explaining seemingly staged events such as the so called Palestinian who said clearly on the tape, "that didn't' work, we'll have to shoot it again"? No

Any evidence whatsoever that any 12 year old boy had been killed, even if not by Israelis? No

In the end, Enderlin was asked why the rest of the tape was not submitted, as directed by the court.

He claimed that only a few minutes had been left out because they "were not relevant" to the proceedings.

Since he has testified for 7 years that the film was entirely shot at the Netzarim junction that day, I am not sure what he could have meant.

Strange, isn't it, that the film produced by Esther Schapira, a left wing German filmmaker, member of the Green party, that showed the shooting to be a stage event has been boycotted by EVERY European television outlet, but the original 30 second film clip allegedly showing this incident is still regularly shown.

The court clearly indicated that they do not believe Enderlin.

When the French judicial system, no friend of Israel's declares this to be a hoax, will the thousand of Israeli's killed as a result of the suicide bombings inspired by this fictional shaheed be brought back?

Will the thousands of so called Palestinians killed as a result of this fiction be brought back?

There is a reason to have a democratic press. It does not always work, but when legitimate agencies such as France 2, allow themselves to be hijacked, we are all in trouble.