Paris Court Overturns The Libel Conviction In The "Al-Dura Affair"

France 2's report purporting to show the IDF killing of a young Palestinian boy set off the second intifada with loss of life in the thousands. Phillipe Karsenty charged that France 2 and reporter Charles Enderlin had staged the story and that Israeli soldiers had not killed the boy. Enderlin and France 2 brought a case for libel. You can find the background of the case and coverage of the lower court case resulting in a finding of libel in this series of PJM reports - Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV. A Paris Court that heard the appeal and reviewed the evidence underlying Karsenty's defense, including all of the footage of supplied by France 2, has now overturned the finding of libel. This is a decision that will likely have significant ramifications.

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This from Israeli blogger Israel Matzav:

Israel Radio's Paris correspondent Gil Michaeli has just reported that the French Court of Appeals has overturned the libel judgment against Phillipe Karsenty and has determined that Karsenty did not libel France 2 correspondent Charles Enderlin when he reported that the 'death' of 12-year old Mohamed Al-Dura at Netzarim in the Gaza Strip in September 2000 may have been staged, and that it was unlikely that the death was caused by IDF soldiers.

More to follow as soon as I have it.

Yes, I know that the photo above is offensive. I'm trying to remind you all of how the al-Dura hoax is being used around the world.

UPDATE 3:40 PM

Welcome Instapundit readers.

UPDATE 5:37 PM

Richard Landes, who has been one of the driving forces behind the effort to expose the al-Dura hoax from the beginning, reminds us all that there is still a written opinion to be issued, and that the court's evidentiary standard ought to make that opinion a doozer. He also asks the most important question here:

Now we get to see how the French (and Western) MSM handle this. It’s a stunning victory for Karsenty and loss for Enderlin and France2 who initiated this case when they didn’t have to. . . .

Read the entire post.

Much more on this decision at Soccer Dad.

Update: Philippe Karsenty writes of his vindication at PJM:

Now it is time for France 2 to acknowledge that it created and is continuing to perpetuate the worst anti-Semitic libel of our era. It’s the responsibility of the French government and, ultimately, the responsibility of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy — who is, for all practical purposes, the chief executive of French public television — to finally reveal the truth.

Read the entire post.