Nablus- Palestinians chanted “We die and Palestine lives” and “Israel is a terrorist state… and we do not fear it” as they buried Turkish-American activist Aisha Nur Azgi (Aysnur Azki) in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, after she was killed by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Beita, south of the city, on Friday afternoon.
Aisha (26 years old) was martyred by a live bullet fired at her from close range by the occupation soldiers, which penetrated her head, during her first solidarity participation in a peaceful demonstration denouncing settlements in Palestine, in a crime that confirmed the violence of the occupation forces in suppressing the Palestinians and their supporters.
Through a massive march in which hundreds participated, and with the official and popular Palestinian and Turkish presence represented by the Turkish Ambassador to Palestine Fayed Mustafa, the Governor of Nablus Ghassan Daghlas, and other officials, in addition to her comrades in the field, Aisha’s body was escorted this afternoon, Monday, from in front of the Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, where funeral prayers were held for her soul.
“The Road to Freedom”
Aisha’s fellow foreign and Palestinian sympathizers carried the body, which was wrapped in the Palestinian flag and keffiyeh, on their shoulders, amid angry chants they made rejecting the crimes of Israel and the United States against the Palestinians. This was followed by a military funeral ceremony, as Aisha’s body was carried on the shoulders of Palestinian soldiers, and both the Palestinian and Turkish national anthems were played.
The body was then transferred to a Palestinian ambulance, which in turn transferred it to the American delegation, which later transferred it to Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied city of Lod, to be transported later by American or Turkish plane to be buried in her hometown of Antalya, Turkey, in accordance with the wishes of her family, according to what one of the activists in the “Global Solidarity Movement” through which Aisha was presented told Tel Aviv Tribune Net.
In front of the morgue at Rafidia Hospital, where Aisha’s body remained for four days, dozens of foreign sympathizers and Palestinian activists gathered, and amidst a general state of sadness and anger on their faces, they raised Palestinian flags and pictures of Aisha.
The mourners also carried signs with phrases written in English and Arabic, condemning the occupation’s crime of assassinating the activist and affirming that they will not forget her, and another phrase that Aisha herself repeated, saying, “My blood paves the way for freedom.”
Her blood is a message to the world
Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas conveyed – via Tel Aviv Tribune Net – a message to the world and to all who support Israel, stating that “Aisha’s martyrdom on the land of Palestine is a source of pride for her, and that her blood is a curse on the oppressors and all who support the occupation.” He stressed that the Palestinian people will remain steadfast on their land.
Regarding the impact that Aisha left with her martyrdom, Douglas adds that she “lit a candle for the world, and that her blood will light the way, and that with her martyrdom she beat the drums so that everyone would hear that the Palestinian people are oppressed and want their freedom.”
As for the Minister of the Wall and Settlement Authority, Mu’ayyad Shaaban, he said that Israel kills everyone who defends the Palestinians, and that Aisha is the tenth foreign activist killed by the Israeli occupation. Shaaban added to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “This will not deter or prevent the arrival of activists who are increasing in number in the face of the escalation of the occupation’s crimes, because they see the facts on the ground that the occupation is trying to distort.”
In the town of Beita, where Aisha was martyred, the municipal council and the local community are working to establish a “house of mourning” for the martyr, and are working to honor her by erecting a memorial and naming a street in the town after her.
The mayor of Beita, Mahmoud Barham, told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “We consider Aisha the 17th martyr to have been killed in the battle to defend Mount Sabih, which has been ongoing for more than three years. She is the first girl, and we have offered to honor her by burying her in the land of Beita next to the martyrs there, in honor of her and the Turkish people.”
On Aisha’s path
Aisha studied psychology at the University of Washington in the United States of America, worked in some social assistance centers and then worked in a tourism company, and arrived in Palestine last week as a volunteer in the “Global Solidarity Movement in Support of Palestinians.”
Syrian-American activist Lulu says that she and her colleagues support Aisha’s family and stand by them. “We tell Israel that killing Aisha will not intimidate us. We come here knowing that we might be martyred. We are like the rest of the Palestinians who are killed by the occupation every day,” she said.
Lulu added to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that she was attacked by settlers a few days before Aisha’s martyrdom, while she was showing solidarity with the people of the town of Qusra, south of Nablus. The settlers smashed her head with stones and broke her hand. She said, “Some friends were afraid to come after Aisha’s martyrdom, but others, and their numbers are large, will come soon.”
As for the American solidarity activist “Yousef” – as he calls himself – he said that he “feels pain for the loss of his sister in Islam and comrade in struggle, Aisha.” He added to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “The occupation does not care about human life, whether American, foreign or Palestinian. But despite the anger and sorrow that overwhelms us, that makes us continue on the path of Aisha, and the path for which we came.”
“Aisha’s martyrdom and the recent escalation of Israeli attacks on other activists have had a major impact on them and demonstrate that we need effective international solidarity,” said Abdul Karim Dalbah, an activist in the International Solidarity Movement with the Palestinian People (ISM).
Dalbah describes the activists as “defenders of humanity and freedom,” and says that “80% of their solidarity work is done after they return to their countries. They see the crimes of the occupation as a reality and document them, then convey that to their governments and peoples, and there they are more believed.”
He added that the need for these activists is increasing, as they are the “best messengers” to raise the Palestinian voice in their countries, and most importantly, they “pressure their governments that are biased towards Israel, and they have influence in the boycott and struggle for Palestine, and they are very influential in stopping the material and military support for the occupation.”
Dalbah pointed out that the occupation’s measures, killing and assaulting activists will not stop their flow to Palestine, and that the numbers of those registered in their countries to participate in solidarity campaigns and movements are increasing every day.