Two men shot Muhammad Al-Durra five years ago this week, on Sept 30, 2000, two days after the outbreak of Intifada II: The occupation soldier who shot the fatal bullet that killed him, and the photo journalist who shot the iconic picture that immortalized him.
Muhammad, of course, was the 12-year old boy killed in the arms of his father, who had vainly tried to shield him from harm as both crouched, compressed and trapped, between a low wall and a large metal barrel at the Netzarin Junction. The harrowing image, filmed by Palestinian cameraman Talal Abu Rahma for France 2 television, carries the emblematic power of a battle flag. Its heart-rending intensity, its fevered veracity, puts it beyond all rational understanding. It is a lasting image of the war against the Palestinian people and how Israel has conducted it. Hundreds of poems have been written about the boy. Several countries, including Egypt, Tunisia and Belgium, have issued stamps commemorating the event. Parks and streets (including one in Cairo, where, tellingly, the Israeli Embassy is located) have been named in his honor. Yes, that image has encoded its dark derangement in our consciousness, attesting to how a picture, clich