French court finds Israeli doctor lied to protect Israel over its slaying of Muhamad al-Durrah

Ynet – A French court ruled Friday against Dr. David Yehuda, an Israeli doctor who was sued for slander by Jamal al-Durrah, the father of Second Intifada symbol Muhammad al-Durrah.

The Israeli doctor, an orthopedic surgeon who operated on Jamal al-Durrah, exposed details from his medical file and claimed that his scares were the result of a surgery, and were not caused by IDF fire.

Following the verdict, Dr. Yehuda said that he intends to appeal the sentence.

"In the past two years I've been fighting the State of Israel's just war. This is a terrible scam. I feel hurt and a personal sense of insult," he said. "Again they are trampling and twisting the truth…I can already see the negative results and a new wave of hatred to come out of Europe."

The Israeli doctor, who was ordered to pay 13,000 Euros in compensation, claimed that the ruling stemmed from political pressure.

"I expected integrity from France and from the judges, but this is disgusting. Another wave of terror attacks may result from this decision," he said.

The father of the 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah, killed on September 30, 2000, filed his libel suit after claiming that the doctor exposed personal details from his file and distorted facts about his scars.

The Israeli surgeon, who operated on Jamal al-Durrah at an Israeli hospital, charged that he lied about his injuries. The wounds stemmed from an attack on al-Durrah by Hamas men and a subsequent surgery, Dr. Yehuda said. The doctor operated on al-Durrah after a failed surgery in Gaza in 1994.

Six years later, after Muhammad al-Durrah was killed on the second day of the Intifada and his father sustained serious wounds, Dr. Yehuda published details from the father's personal file in order to prove that his scars were not caused by IDF soldiers.

The Palestinians accused the IDF of killing Muhammad al-Durrah, but subsequent investigative reports reached the conclusion that the child was shot by the PalestiniansAs result, a French TV station and crew were later accused of staging the incident. [Actually, unlike this Israeli news agency, very few analysts believe the alleged findings of these "investigations" by Israel and Israeli partisans. Free lance reporter Alison Weir visited the site in Gaza a few months after the incident occurred, interviewed the cameraman, and has no doubt that Israeli forces shot the father and son as filmed. Since fall 2000 Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 Palestinian children. ]