An Al-Jazeera journalist was fatally shot Wednesday while covering Israeli raids in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the outlet reported.
The outlet, citing the Palestinian health ministry, reported that Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally shot by Israeli security forces.
The Israeli Defense Forces said on Twitter that it and Israeli security forces “conducted counterterrorism activity to apprehend terrorist suspects in the Jenin Refugee Camp” and came under fire.
The IDF said Palestinian gunmen opened fire and Israeli soldiers returned fire. It said it was investigating “and looking into the possibility that journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”
Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks amid a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of them carried out by Palestinians from in and around Jenin.
Al-Jazeera Ramallah bureau chief Walid al-Omary said that there had been no shooting carried out by Palestinian gunmen, Al-Jazeera reported.
Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, tweeted that Israel has offered Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the killing.
“Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,” Lapid wrote.
He also wrote, “Israel’s security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to prevent terrorism and the murder of Israelis.”
Abu Akleh is a well-known Palestinian reporter for the broadcaster’s Arabic language channel.
She was wearing a vest identifying her as a member of the press when she was killed, Al-Jazeera reported.
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
