French court postpones verdict in al-Dura libel trial

The verdict in the libel case against French media analyst and critic Philippe Karsenty, sued by France 2 for accusing the network’s Jerusalem bureau chief Charles Enderlin of fabricating parts of a segment showing the reported death of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura from IDF fire in Gaza in September 2000, has been postponed to May 22.

The Paris Court of Appeal was expected to rule on the case on Wednesday but decided to postpone the verdict to study the matter further.

In 2004, Karsenty accused Enderlin and France 2 of misleading viewers on the second day of the Second Intifada in what has come to be known as the al-Dura affair. On September 30, 2000, al-Dura and his father Jamal sought cover behind concrete cylinders after being caught in crossfire between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen in Gaza. The boy was said to have died in the exchange but the accuracy and credibility of the France 2 report was widely debated.

At the time, France 2 aired footage purporting to show how Israel “targeted” the 12-year-old and his father. Israel, while initially accepting responsibility, allowed that the boy may have been killed by Palestinian fire.

Karsenty was convicted of libel in 2006, a judgment that was overturned on appeal in 2008. France 2 subsequently appealed that appeal at the “Cour de cassation,” France’s highest court. Last year, the Cour de cassation annulled the ruling acquitting Karsenty of libel in 2008.