Next to the view that Israeli gunfire killed the boy, two alternative narratives emerged, known as the "minimalist" and "maximalist" narratives. The "minimalist" narrative is that Palestinian gunfire caused his death, or that no one knows who did. The "maximalist" narrative is that the incident was staged by the Palestinians for propaganda purposes—without Enderlin's knowledge—and that the boy may not be dead at all, or may have been killed as part of the staging.[26]
The controversy centers on two areas: the raw footage and its interpretation by Enderlin, and the lack of any investigation into the boy's death. There is confusion about when the incident occurred, how much footage was shot, why it was blurred at the moment the shots were fired, why France 2 cut the final scene, and what time the boy arrived at the hospital. No ballistic tests were conducted.[57] Within days of the incident, the IDF demolished the wall and concrete cylinder the al-Durrahs had sheltered against; they said they did this to remove hiding places for snipers.[58] There is no evidence that bullets were recovered, whether from the scene, from the bodies, or from Jamal. There was no full autopsy, though a pathologist did examine the boy's body.[8] In an interview with Esther Schapira in 2002, Abu Rahma, the cameraman, said bullets had indeed been recovered. He suggested Schapira ask a named Palestinian general about them. The general told Schapira that he had no bullets, and that there had been no Palestinian investigation because there was no doubt as to who had shot the boy. When told the general had no bullets, Abu Rahma said that France 2 had collected bullets at the scene. He said: "We have some secrets for ourselves ... We cannot give anything ... everything."[55]
[edit] Confusion about timeline
Confusion has also arisen about the timeline, some reports suggesting the boy was shot before ten in the morning; other at noon; others at three in the afternoon. Even within France 2 itself there is unresolved confusion, with the cameraman placing the shooting around noon local time, while Enderlin's report—which aired on France 2's nightly news program at 8:00 pm (GMT+2)—gave the time as 3:00 pm Israeli local time (GMT+3).[59] James Fallows wrote in The Atlantic in 2003 that Jamal and Muhammad first made an appearance in the footage at 3:00 pm (GMT+3), arguing that the time can be judged by later comments from Jamal and some journalists on the scene, and by the length of the shadows.[8] Brian Whitaker wrote in The Guardian in 2000 that the news first arrived in London from the Associated Press at 6:00 pm BST (GMT+1), followed minutes later by a similar report from Reuters.[60]
Contradicting the 3 pm timeline, Mohammed Tawil, the doctor who admitted Muhammad to the Al-Shifa Hospital, told Esther Schapira that he was admitted around 10:00 am (GMT+3).[61] Abu Rahma, the France 2 cameraman, insisted that the intensive shooting had begun at noon.[21] According to Stéphane Juffa of the Israeli Metula News Agency, another doctor at the Shifa hospital, Dr. Joumaa Saka, said that Muhammad was admitted before 1:00 pm.[62] Fallows said he saw a hospital report saying a dead boy with an eight-inch (20-cm) cut down his belly was admitted at 1:00 pm. Fallows also said there was a discrepancy regarding the time of the funeral. A boy wrapped in a Palestinian flag, with his face exposed, who Fallows said looked like Muhammad, was carried through the streets of the refugee camp in front of thousands of mourners. Several news organizations said this occurred on the evening of September 30. Fallows said it appeared to take place in full sunlight, with shadows suggesting it was midday.[8]
In addition to confusion about the timing, early reports named the boy as Rami Aldura.[60] Abu Rahma explained later that it was believed his name was Rami until a local CBS stringer, who was married to Jamal's sister, identified the couple in the footage as Jamal and Muhammad al-Durrah.[63] This early confusion over times and names is one of the arguments Esther Schapira advances for her hypothesis that two boys were involved in shooting incidents that day (see below).[Passages Malibu self defense
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