Israeli troops shoot Turkish-American woman during West Bank protests, officials say

People react as they gather outside a hospital after a U.S. citizen taking part in a protest against settlement expansion died from her injuries after being shot in the head by Israeli troops in Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 6, 2024; Credit: Reuters/Stringer

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot dead a Turkish-American woman who was taking part in a protest against settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, Palestinian and Turkish officials said.

The White House expressed its deep sadness at the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and called on Israel to investigate the incident. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said she was shot in the head and blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for her death.

Palestinian officials described her as a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who held dual American and Turkish citizenship.

Eygi had recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, university president Ana Mari Cauce said in a statement describing the news of her death:terrible” and said Eygi had a “positive influence” to other students.

She studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages ​​and cultures at university, her family said late Friday in a statement shared by the pro-Palestinian organization Institute of Middle East Understanding.

The Israeli military said its troops shot a man.Main initiator“who posed a threat by throwing stones at soldiers.

The military investigated reports that a foreign national “was killed by gunfire from the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances under which she was hit are currently under investigation.“.

There was no initial comment from Netanyahu's office on the incident.

Fouad Nafaa, head of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Reuters that Eygi arrived in critical condition with a serious head injury.

“We tried to resuscitate her, but unfortunately she diedhe said.

The Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA said the incident occurred during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a village near Nablus that has seen repeated attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers.

Eygi's family described her as “extremely passionate human rights activist“, who recently took part in protests on a university campus against US support for Israel's war in Gaza. The statement called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to seek an independent US investigation into her killing.

“I begged her not to go [to the West Bank]but she was deeply convinced that she wanted to participate in the tradition of bearing witness to people's oppression and their dignified resilience.,” Aria Fani, assistant professor of Middle Eastern languages ​​and cultures at the University of Washington, told the Guardian.

The university president said: “Aysenur was a mentor in psychology who helped welcome new students to the department and made a positive impact on their lives..”

“Deeply concerned”

Sean Savett, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Washington was “deeply saddened by the tragic death of an American citizen” in the West Bank on Friday.

“We have contacted the Israeli government to request further information and call for an investigation into the incident.Savett said in a statement.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen said Eygi was the third American killed in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants' attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza and a resurgence of violence in the West Bank.

The “The Biden administration has not done enough to enforce justice and accountability on their behalf” said Van Hollen, a Democrat like Biden and Harris who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “If the Netanyahu government does not seek justice for Americans, the US Department of Justice must.”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Eygi's death and said in a social media post that Turkey “will continue to work on all platforms to stop Israel’s occupation and genocide policies“. Israel denies that its actions in the occupied Palestinian territories amount to genocide.

In another incident on Friday near Beita in the village of Qaryut, a 13-year-old girl was killed by Israeli gunfire, Palestinian health officials said, after settlers attacked the village.

WAFA quoted the girl's father as saying she was in her home when she was hit by gunfire. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident after its troops fired from the air to break up what it said were violent clashes between dozens of settlers and Palestinians in the area.

An increase in violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank has infuriated Israel's Western allies, including the United States, which has imposed sanctions on some Israelis involved in the settler movement.

A few weeks ago, around 100 settlers attacked the village of Jit in the northern West Bank. The attack was condemned worldwide and the Israeli government promised to take immediate action against anyone found guilty of the violence.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the west bank of the Jordan River, which the Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. Israel has built settlements there that most countries consider illegal, a claim Israel denies, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.