Shurat HaDin Petitions High Court to Revoke France 2 Television's Press
Credentials

December 4, 2007

Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center has filed a petition today in the High Court
of Justice in Jerusalem asking that the Government Press Office (GPO) be
compelled to revoke the press credentials of France 2 television staff and
its Jerusalem bureau chief, Mr Charles Enderlin, in light of the network and
its staff proceedings in the Muhamad al- Durrahf affair.

On September 30, 2000, two days after the beginning of the Second Intifada,
French television broadcasted worldwide footage showing the Palestinian
child Muhammad al Durrah, crouched behind his father. The footage depicted
al-Durrah and his father seeking cover during a gunfight near the Nezarim
junction. In the footage, Enderlin attributed al-Durrah's death to the I.D.F
despite the face he was not at the scene.

The images as seen in the broadcast, add to Enderlin's voice cover, caused a
great shock worldwide, a wave of condemnations against the State of Israel
and an increase in anti- Israeli violence in Israel. The Or Commission which
was appointed to investigate the "October 2000 Events", found out that
images of al Durrah's death sparked massive anti- Israeli violence in the
Israeli- Arab community and had an enormous impact on the beginning of the
"October 2000 Events" and its extent.

However, as time passed it was clear that the footage, filmed by Talal Abu
Rahma, the network's Palestinian cameraman, was staged for the purpose of a
Palestinian propaganda. It was clear that the shooting towards al- Durrah
and his father couldn't possibly have been fired from the I.D.F position.
Furthermore, Enderling misled viewers, claiming that al-Durrah was murdered
by the I.D.F., despite the clear findings of numerous independent
investigations on this matter, including the official I.D.F commission of
investigation. To this day, Enderling and the French network still insist on
his position.

In February 2007, Shurat HaDin sent a warning letter to GPO Director Daniel
Seaman demanding that he revoke France 2's credentials, including
Enderlin's, until the French network and Enderlin retract their allegations
against Israel, clarifying that Muhammad al- Durrah was not killed by the
I.D.F, and apologize to the state of Israel and its citizens for the great
damages caused by the actions of the French network and its staff.
GPO Director Daniel Seaman responded with a formal acknowledgment that Talal
Abu Rahma had indeed staged the infamous al-Dura footage. Seamen stated that
this footage is a true blood libel against I.D.F, and acknowledged that the
French network is responsible for an unprecedented wave of anti- Israeli and
anti- Jewish violence.

It should be noted that Seaman's letter was the first time the State of
Israel confirmed that a journalistic fraud had been perpetrated against the
IDF by France 2 television. Nevertheless, despite its findings, Seaman
stated that he is not authorized to cancel Enderlin's or France2's press
credentials.

According to Shurat HaDin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner:

"This modern-day blood libel directly resulted in hundreds of Jewish and
Arab deaths and ignited a still-burning torch of hatred against Israel,
while images of al- Durrah are being presented in anti- Israeli
demonstrations up to this day in Iran, the Arab world, Western Europe, and
on the campuses of American universities only for the purpose of raising
France 2's ratings. This was perhaps the greatest journalistic hoax
perpetrated in the last hundred years. We demand that those who are
responsible for this crime apologize or bear the consequences of their
actions in order to avoid the repetition of incidents like this and,
moreover, to stop this blood libel once and for all. The GPO must protect,
in this case, a clear Israeli interest and cannot claim that it has the
authority to issue press credentials but not to revoke them. We truly hope
that the High Court judges will only take into account Israeli interests,
and compel the GPO to revoke France 2's credentials."

FOR MORE INFO: info@israellawcenter.org

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