Killing of Muhammad al-Durrah

Muhammed al-Durrah was a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy killed by Israel Defense Force (IDF) gunfire on September 30, 2000 at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. A French television crew (France 2) near Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip filmed the terrified boy clutching his father as his father frantically tried to shield him from bullets.

Incident

Muhammad al-Durrah left home that morning to accompany his father, Jamal al-Durrah, on a day's outing to shop for a car. On the return trip home, the father and son crossed a main street in the Bureij refugee camp when heavy shooting broke out from an IDF oupost near Netzarim junction. Witnesses stated that youths had been throwing stones at the military post. Muhammad and Jamal al-Durrah sought sanctuary in vain between a concrete cylinder and a low cinderblock wall as bullets rained down around them for about 45 minutes, of which only a few minutes were filmed.

"He stayed close to me, clutching me from my back while I was trying to keep him away from the bullets," said his father. "But one bullet hit him in the leg. I started screaming and crying, hoping that the bullets would stop, but to no avail."

Television footage showed Jamal al-Durrah waving desperately, shouting, "Don't shoot!" but Muhammad was eventually hit by four bullets and collapsed in his father's arms. Jamal al-Durrah was also shot and suffered critical injuries but survived after receiving emergency surgery in Jordan. He suffered a permanently paralyzed right arm.

"It is the worst nightmare of my life... My son was terrified, he pleaded with me: 'For the love of God protect me, Baba (Dad).'

"I will never forget these words."

An ambulance driver who tried to reach the trapped pair was shot and killed by IDF soldiers. A second ambulance driver was wounded.

Reaction

The killings captured on film by a France 2 cameraman, and an edited version of the raw footage was repeatedly broadcast on Palestinian television and around the world. The IDF was assumed to be responsible, and Muhammad al-Durrah's death became a rallying symbol of resistance and rage against Israel.

"My son didn't die in vain," said Muhammad's mother, Amal. "This was his sacrifice for our homeland, for Palestine."

The IDF admitted that it was "probably responsible" for killing Muhammad al-Durrah and expressed sorrow at his death. IDF operations chief Giora Eiland announced that a preliminary investigation revealed that "the shots were apparently fired by Israeli soldiers from the outpost at Netzarim".

On October 7 2001, al Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith warned President Bush that he "must not forget the video footage of Muhammad al-Durrah" and promised that violence against the United States would continue until, among other things, the country ended its assistance "to the Jews in Palestine."

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Incident

Reaction

See Also

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