What is the Mohammed al-Dura myth?

On September 30, 2000, Muhammad Jamal al-Durrah (Al Dura), a 12 year old Palestinian boy, became the icon of the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada. It was reported that Muhammad was killed in the crossfire by Israeli soldiers during a shootout with Palestinian gunman. He was filmed crouched behind his father during the gunfight near the Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip.

The footage of an apparent battle between Israelis and Palestinians originated with the French public television station, France 2, and was filmed by Talal Abu Rahma, the network’s Palestinian cameraman. The footage included a voice-over by Charles Enderlin, France 2's Jerusalem bureau chief, reporting from the office, who attributed the mortal shots to Israel. The image of the boy and his father was repeatedly broadcast on television worldwide and continues to appear in Palestinian posters, advertisements and on Arab country postage stamps.

But an in depth look at this footage and the surrounding investigation raises some serious questions as to whether Muhammad actually was shot and killed. To this date, France2 has refused, despite repeated requests and a lawsuit from Israel, to turn over the original unedited 27 minutes of raw footage.

Perhaps, things are not always what they seem. After viewing the following materials, decide for yourself.

In-depth analysis of this story available at Second Draft

Read the open-source Wikipedia materials.