The IDF is not ruling out the possibility that Staff Sergeant Ido Shapira, who was shot dead during an operation in Jenin Thursday morning, was killed by friendly fire.
Investigators said there is no conclusive evidence that Shapira was killed by Palestinian gunmen.
The troops were operating in the city in a bid to detain wanted terror suspects.
During the operation, the paratroopers surrounded a home used as a hideout by wanted Islamic Jihad and Tanzim terror suspects, according to intelligence information received earlier. The troops encircled the house using the "pressure cooker" tactic in an effort to force the suspects to surrender.
However, one of the gunmen opened fire at the soldiers while attempting to flee the scene, and it was initially thought that he had hit Shapira, who sustained critical wounds. A helicopter was dispatched to evacuate Shapira to hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds and died at the scene. IDF troops fired back at the shooters.
The wanted terror suspects are reportedly responsible for planning five terror attacks against Israel in 2005, during which 22 Israelis were killed. In addition, they sent two would-be suicide bombers to Rosh Haayin, but they were intercepted by IDF troops south of Tul Karm. One of the terrorists detonated the bomb he was carrying on his body, killing First Lieutenant Uri Binamo.