Family seeks independent inquiry after US-Turkish citizen killed during Israeli gunfire

Eyewitness says Aysenur Eygi was shot when troops opened fire at a protest in the West Bank village of Beita

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Israeli forces shot and killed a US-Turkish citizen at a protest in the occupied West Bank on Friday, a witness told The National, as Ankara accused the Israeli government of “murder”.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed as she attended a protest against Israeli settler expansion in the town of Beita, a village south of Nablus in the north of the West Bank. The recent graduate from Washington state had only arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday.

"A US citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that a video shows came from an Israeli military shooter," her family said in a statement.

"We call on President [Joe] Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."

"Given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," her family said.

Violence erupted when Israeli troops used force to suppress the protest, which involved firing live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas at demonstrators, sources told the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

“The soldiers were standing on a rooftop, some 200 metres away from a woman standing in the olive grove, and they took a kill shot,” Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli activist who witnessed the shooting, told The National. “There was nothing happening around, they just simply shot her in the head.”

Mr Pollak said he was a few metres in front of Ms Eygi when he heard two shots ring out: the first ricocheted off a metal object and struck a Palestinian youth and the second killed the young woman.

“I was looking at the soldiers on the rooftop, and I saw one of the soldiers aiming his gun in our direction, and I heard two distinct shots of live ammunition,” he said.

He added that at the time of the shooting, the protest had quieted down. He said Friday's protest was the first time Ms Eygi had protested.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry and the US State Department both confirmed the death of Ms Eygi. She was 26, according to an image of her passport posted on social media.

The Foreign Ministry said Ms Eygi “was killed by occupying Israeli soldiers”, and described her death as “murder”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement condemning Israel's “barbaric intervention against a civilian protest against the occupation in the West Bank”.

“I pray to God for the mercy of our citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi who lost her life in the attack,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said US President Joe Biden's administration has asked Israel to conduct an investigation.

“We are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen” she told reporters.

The State Department meanwhile said it was “aware” of Ms Eygi's “tragic death”.

“We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death, and will have more to say as we learn more,” a representative told The National.

The Israeli military said it was “looking into” reports that a foreign citizen had been shot and that “details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review”.

According to the military's statement, Israeli security forces opened fire after an “instigator of violent activity” threw rocks.

Ms Eygi was taken to hospital in Nablus, where she was pronounced dead.

The activist was involved with the Faz'a campaign, which works to support and protect Palestinian farmers from the Israeli military and settlers. An 18-year-old Palestinian was injured in the violence.

Her LinkedIn account shows she recently graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in psychology and a minor in Middle Eastern languages and cultures, and was resident in the Seattle area.

In her bio, she wrote that she has worked as a mentor to support students. “I'm driven by a passion for making a positive impact and continuously seek opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute to meaningful projects,” she wrote.

Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic congresswoman from Seattle, said the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "done nothing" to address settler violence in the West Bank and said Ms Eygi's killing was "terrible proof" of rising tension in the region.

According to the State Department, three Americans have been killed in the West Bank since October 7.

While Turkey maintains diplomatic ties with Israel, relations since October 7 have nosedived and officials have exchanged bitter criticisms. Turkey has cut off trade with Israel and applied to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said that the Palestinian Authority suspects that an Israeli sniper deliberately targeted Ms Eygi, likening her killing to that of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

According to information passed on to Turkey, the Palestinian Authority will conduct its own postmortem of Ms Eygi to clarify the circumstances of her death and to determine the type of bullet used, the official said.

In May 2022, Israeli forces shot and killed Ms Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist who was covering a military raid in Jenin. She was clearly identified as being a member of the press at the time of her death.

The incident sparked global condemnation. Israel initially denied responsibility and blamed Palestinian gunmen operating in the area, only to later concede there was a “high possibility” one of its soldiers accidentally shot Ms Abu Akleh.

The US State Department condemned her killing but ultimately said it had no reason to believe it was intentional.

Jihan Abdalla contributed to this report