By Phil Helsel and Chantal Da Silva -
NBC News
A veteran Palestinian-American journalist for the Al Jazeera television network was fatally shot Wednesday morning while covering Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank.
The death of Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known reporter for the network's Arabic channel, sparked immediate outrage in the region and beyond.
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Both Al Jazeera and the Palestinian authorities and another reporter who was injured in the incident claimed that Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli security forces.
Israel suggested that she may have been killed by Palestinian gunmen in clashes during the raid.
Al Jazeera reported that Abu Akleh, 51, was wearing a vest identifying her as a member of the press when she was killed.
The station blamed Israeli forces for the shooting, saying the journalist was "killed in cold blood."
"We are committed to legally prosecute the perpetrators, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and to bring them to justice," the Qatari network said in a statement.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also blamed Israeli forces for the journalist's death.
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"Shireen Abu Akleh helped shape the memory of an entire generation and tell the Palestinian story to the world," he explained in a tweet.
“Shireen was killed by the Israeli occupation while she was documenting her horrific crimes against our people.
My sincere condolences to her family and her colleagues,” she added.
The US embassy in Jerusalem confirmed to our sister network NBC News that Abu Akleh was a US citizen.
In a tweet, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides called for a "thorough investigation" into her death.
The Israeli army alleged that its forces were attacked and returned fire while carrying out "counter-terrorism activities to detain terror suspects in the Jenin refugee camp."
They added that they were investigating "and studying the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen."
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In recent weeks, Israel has carried out almost daily raids in the occupied West Bank amid a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of them carried out by Palestinians from and around Jenin.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said "it appears likely that Palestinian gunmen - who were shooting indiscriminately at the time - were responsible for the journalist's unfortunate death."
“Journalists in conflict zones must be protected and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote in another tweet, also calling for a joint investigation.
Al-Jazeera TV channel reporter Shirin Abu Akile during a broadcast in Amman, Jordan, on October 16, 2016. Salah Malkawi / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
In the meantime, he said: "Israeli security forces will continue to operate where necessary to prevent terrorism and the killing of Israelis."
NBC News has contacted the Palestinian Authority for comment.
Ali Samoudi, another Palestinian journalist, was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the back.
The reporter told The Associated Press that he worked as a producer for Abu Akleh, and that the two were part of a group of reporters who went to cover the raid on Wednesday morning.
Samoudi said the group was wearing protective gear that clearly identified them as reporters, and that there were no militants or others in the area at the time of the shooting.
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Abu Akleh's body is expected to be transferred to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government, before heading to Jerusalem for burial.
His death comes amid weeks of escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, including the recent killing of three Israeli civilians in an ax attack last week and an order by Israel's Supreme Court to expel Palestinians living in an area of the occupied West Bank.
It also comes as President Joe Biden prepares to visit Israel next month, his first since taking office.