Israeli probe to present "full facts" of journalist's killing: army chief

JERUSALEM, May 11 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli army chief said on Wednesday that a special probe team has set up to "present the facts in full" over the killing of an Al-Jazeera journalist in the occupied West Bank.

Shireen Abu Akleh was shot by the Israeli troops early Wednesday while covering an Israeli military raid and died shortly after, said the Palestinian Health Ministry, adding another Palestinian reporter was shot in the back during the raid.

The Israeli army earlier said it had started investigating into the incident, suggesting the possibility of the journalists being shot by "armed Palestinians."

However, the army chief Aviv Kochavi later stepped back from the claim, saying "at this stage it is not possible to determine from which shooting she was hit and we regret her death."

"In order to reach the truth, we have set up a special team that will clarify the facts and present them in full and as soon as possible," he noted.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a video message that Israel has asked the Palestinian Authority to conduct a joint forensic analysis but "the Palestinians refused."

Al-Jazeera accused Israel of killing the journalist and called on the international community to "condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for deliberately targeting and killing" its colleague.

"We pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice," Al-Jazeera said in a statement.