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IDF investigation: Unlikely that IDF fire killed Mohammed al DuraNov. 27, 2000By Anat Cygielman, Ha'aretz Correspondent and agencies Major General Yom Tov Samia, GOC Southern Command, has reversed earlier IDF statements and presented the results of a Southern Command investigation into the high-profile death of 12-year-old Mohammed al Dura at the Netzarim junction two months ago. Though the results are inconclusive, Samia said, the results show that "there is doubt about the possibility that IDF fire hit Mohammed and his father." He added, "it is probable that the boy was hit by Palestinians during a exchanges of fire in the area." During a press conference, Samia pointed out that the investigation was flawed by lack of material evidence, including an autopsy report from the boy's body and full footage of the incident from the France 2 network, which the IDF does not have. Furthermore, the IDF has destroyed buildings at the scene, including the wall Mohammed and his father, Jamal al Dura, were crouching against when they were shot. Israel tore down the buildings a week after the shooting to clear the area of cover used by Palestinian stone-throwers and gunmen in repeated clashes. Based on what evidence the IDF does have, the investigation concluded that the possibility that Mohammed and his father were hit by fire from an IDF position at Netzarim Junction is low. This conclusion is based on bullet angles, measurements, testimony, and the French television footage that shows clearly that the two were hit by automatic fire, not single rounds. According to soldiers' testimony, no one in the position shot automatic fire. Jamal al Dura's statements during television interviews that a bullet in the back hit his son points to a strong possibility that the fire came from Palestinians at the eastern edge of the wall, aimed at the IDF position, Samia said. Police ballistic experts participated in the investigation, Samia emphasized at the press conference, as did the IDF mapping unit. However, the experts did not sign the report and their names were not given at the press conference. Speaking to Ha'aretz, Samia said that this was because the experts were involved only in portions of the work, and not from the beginning to the end. "The report is mine, and I stand behind everything written in it," he said. He added that the initiative to launch the investigation was his, and that although he had informed Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz of the decision, he did not detail to the chief of staff the make-up of the investigation team. Jamal al Dura, in Jordan for treatment of his wounds, hotly rejected the investigations findings. "Everybody knows the truth," he told reporters by telephone. "The bullets of the Zionists are the bullets that killed my son," he said.
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