Al Araby TV report debunks Israel PM's claim that Palestinians shot Shireen Abu Akleh

Reports from the site of the killing of Palestinian Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh have debunked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet's suggestion that the veteran journalist was gunned down by Palestinian fighters from the Jenin refugee camp.

Bennet refused on Wednesday to concede that she had been shot by Israeli forces - despite eyewitness accounts - with the premier's official Twitter page sharing a video showing Palestinian fighters firing shots.

A report by Al Araby TV, however, has shown the implausibility of the premier's claims.

Visiting the site of the shooting on Wednesday, reporter Amid Shehedeh explained that the alleyway where the Palestinian fighter shown in the Israeli-distributed footage was positioned.

"Between the position of the [Palestinian] fighters and where Shireen was martyred is a school, completely blocking off the bullets," Shehedeh explains in a video published by the news network on Wednesday.

Walking to the end of the alleyway, the journalist explains that Israeli forces were positioned around there. Abu Akleh and other journalists were standing next to a tree several hundred metres down the road, which was out of sight for the Palestinian fighters, but in the line of fire of the Israeli forces, the video explains.

Bullet holes left in the tree under which Abu Akleh was killed indicate that they were fired from the Israelis' position.

A similar report released by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem also debunked the Israeli government's claims.

As more information continued to surface on Wednesday, the Israeli military backtracked from its initial claims that the veteran journalist was shot by Palestinian gunmen.

Israeli military chief of staff General Kokhavi said "at the moment it is not possible to determine from which fire Abu Akleh was killed".

Abu Akleh's killing has drawn international condemnation, however Israel's Western allies have been reluctant to directly blame Israeli forces.

Testimony from the witnesses said the Israeli military had continued to shoot at the crew even after Abu Akleh was killed, preventing them from retrieving her body.