Türkiye wants to hand over evidence of murder of Turkish-American woman to international courts

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey will submit evidence to the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) this month about Israel's killing of a Turkish-American woman in the West Bank, its justice minister said on Monday.

CONTEXT

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed on September 6 while taking part in a protest against the expansion of settlements in the West Bank against the backdrop of the Gaza war.

Although Israel has admitted that its troops shot at the activist, it says it was an unintentional act during a demonstration that turned violent.

Israel's Western allies are angered by increasing settler attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a part of historic Palestine that Palestinians demand for an independent state. The war in Gaza has also heightened tensions in the region.

Turkey has launched an investigation into Eygi's murder and will apply for international arrest warrants, Ankara said this month. President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would refer the matter to the International Court of Justice.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Eygi's killing has further strained relations between Israel and its main ally, the United States, which is angered by the increasing number of attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and is demanding a swift investigation into the incident.

Washington said Eygi's killing was unacceptable and that Israel must ensure that such an event never happens again.

Israel's initial findings on the murder do not exonerate Israeli security forces, the US said, warning that they would consider other measures if they were not satisfied with the results of a comprehensive Israeli investigation.

KEY QUOTES

“We will put Aysenur's reports on the agenda of the UN Security Council as well as submit the reports and evidence of our sister Aysenur to the International Court of Justice, where the genocide trial will continue,” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters.

“We will also submit Aysenur's evidence to the ongoing investigation into Israeli aggressors at the International Criminal Court,” he added, without giving a timetable.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler and Ed Osmond)