Veteran Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American who was among the network’s most prominent figures, was shot dead Wednesday as she covered an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank.

The Qatar-based TV channel said Israeli forces shot Abu Akleh, 51, deliberately and “in cold blood” while she was covering unrest in the Jenin refugee camp.

Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, however said it was “likely” that Palestinian gunfire killed her.

Another Al Jazeera journalist, producer Ali al-Samudi, was wounded in the incident, the broadcaster added.

An AFP photographer said Abu Akleh was wearing a press flak jacket when she was shot.

The photographer reported that Israeli forces were firing in the area and then saw Abu Akleh’s body lying on the ground.

There were no Palestinian gunmen visible in the area when Abu Akleh was killed, the photographer added.

The Israeli army confirmed it had conducted an operation in the camp early Wednesday but firmly denied it had deliberately targeted a reporter.

The army said there was an exchange of fire between suspects and security forces and that it was “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen”.

“The (army) of course does not aim at journalists,” a military official told AFP.

A statement from Al Jazeera said: “The Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine.”

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It called on the international community to hold the Israeli forces accountable for their “intentional targeting and killing” of the journalist.

Joint investigation

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel was seeking a “joint pathological investigation into the sad death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh”.

“Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,” Lapid added.

Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh said there had been no contact from Israel about any joint probe and held Israel “responsible” for Abu Akleh’s killing.

In a sign of her prominence in the West Bank, residents laid flowers on the roadside as the vehicle carrying her body moved towards Nablus, where an autopsy was scheduled before her burial in her native Jerusalem.

US ambassador to Israel Tomas Nides called for a “thorough investigation” into the killing of the US citizen.

The Star