Israel has denied allegations that its forces targeted Shireen Abu Aqla, a senior journalist working for Al Jazeera who was killed on Wednesday during an Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, and called for a "joint pathological analysis and investigation" to establish the truth.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Qatar-based network blamed the Israeli Army for the death of the 51-year-old woman journalist.
Issuing a statement the Israeli embassy said, "This morning, IDF (Israel Defense Forces), ISA (Israel Securities Authority), and Border Police forces were operating in the Jenin refugee camp and a number of other sites to arrest suspects in terrorist activities"
It said Aqla "appears" to have been hit by Palestinian gunfire, not IDF gunfire.
Israeli forces were operating in the Jenin refugee camp and several other areas of the West Bank to apprehend "terror suspects," the Israeli military also said.
According to the IDF, the militants opened fire at the Israeli forces and hurled explosives at them during the raid, before the soldiers returned fire. The IDF was looking into "a possibility, now being looked into, that reporters were hit – possibly by shots fired by Palestinian gunmen", the Israeli army said.
"To clarify, there is a video of the terrorists stating 'we hit a soldier, he is lying on the ground'. Given that no IDF soldier was injured as stated, it is possible that they were responsible for harming the journalist," the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}"To clarify, there is a video of the terrorists stating 'we hit a soldier, he is lying on the ground'. Given that no IDF soldier was injured as stated, it is possible that they were responsible for harming the journalist," the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}The embassy called on the Palestinians to investigate this issue through a joint pathological investigation. "The State of Israel is in favour of the truth. They have refused until this very moment, possibly in order to hide the truth," it said.
"We express our sorrow over the death of the journalist, see great importance in the freedom of the press, and work to preserve it. However, caution must be taken when entering and staying in areas in which shootings are carried out by terrorist actors," it added.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he holds Israeli forces "fully responsible" for Aqla's death.
Al Jazeera said that she was killed "in cold blood," in what the network called a "horrifying crime that breaches international norms". Another Al Jazeera journalist, producer Ali al-Samudi, was wounded in the incident, the broadcaster added.
In footage from the scene, Aqla was seen wearing a 'press' vest and a helmet and was hit below the ear in an area not covered by her helmet.