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American reporting for Al Jazeera killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

Israel Palestinians Journalist Killed
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A journalist for the Al Jazeera network was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian-American reporter for the broadcaster’s Arabic language channel, was shot and died soon afterward early Wednesday. Another Palestinian journalist who was working as her producer was wounded but in stable condition.

He says Israeli troops fired on them and that there were no militants in the area. Al Jazeera accused Israeli forces of "deliberately targeting and killing our colleague," and vowed to take legal action. Israel said it is investigating the incident and has evidence the two were hit by Palestinian gunfire.

The media network called the killing a "blatant murder."

"Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty," the network said in a statement. "Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of the late colleague Sherine. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen."

Al Jazeera said she was a native of Jerusalem and a citizen of the United States.

“Our loss is so huge,” said Nida Ibrahim, an Al Jazeera correspondentand colleague of Abu Akleh’s in the occupied West Bank. “She was kind, dedicated and devoted. She knew the story through and through and she understood the nuances. She brought a wealth of information to her reporting.”

The Arabic-language network has a wide reach around the Middle East. The network also has an English-language counterpart that covers news and events throughout the Middle East.