An Israeli patrolman was shot and killed in Tel Aviv on Saturday night by a Palestinian gunman who was also shot and killed, Israeli authorities said.

Israel Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said two Tel Aviv municipal patrol bikers noticed the suspect and called on him to stop, prompting him to pull out a pistol and shoot one of them.

The second patrolman pulled out his own gun, chased the attacker and shot him.

Both the wounded officer and the gunman were taken to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center -- Ichilov -- which first announced the gunman was dead and later confirmed the officer's death.

The hospital named the officer as Chen Amir, 42, a married father of three.

Amir was unconscious, with no pulse or breathing, when emergency medical technicians arrived at the scene of the shooting, the Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service said.

He was transported to the hospital in a mobile intensive care unit, MDA said.

Commissioner Shabtai and the Israel Police spokesperson's unit both said the suspect was 27 years old. They have not yet named him in public.

Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both praised the attack, stating that "it is a normal response to settler attacks and a defense of the holy sites."

Neither group has explicitly claimed responsibility.