Israeli forces shot dead a Turkish-American activist during a protest in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency Wafa and a hospital official said.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was participating in the protest against illegal Israeli settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus, on Friday when she was shot dead.
Fouad Nafaa, the director of Rafidia hospital in Nablus, told Reuters news agency that Ezgi Eygi arrived at the hospital in critical condition with a serious head injury.
“We tried to resuscitate her, but unfortunately she died,” he said.
Ezgi Eygi was shot dead when Israeli forces fired live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas at the protesters, Wafa reported, citing local sources.
Jonathan Pollak, a witness, told Tel Aviv Tribune that he found Ezgi Eygi “lying on the ground under an olive grove, bleeding to death”.
“I put my hand under her head to try to stop the bleeding and I took her pulse. Her pulse was very weak. We called the ambulance and put her in the ambulance which took her away.”
Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas said that “all legal measures” would be submitted to the International Criminal Court following the killing of Ezgi Eygi.
“We call on President Biden to stop all support for the occupying state, as it is working hard to bomb hospitals, kill children and kill foreigners, including American nationals,” he told reporters.
The Israeli army issued a statement saying its forces had “responded with fire against one of the main instigators of the violent activity who threw stones at forces that posed a threat to them.”
She said she was investigating reports that “a foreign national was killed following gunfire in the area.”
In the incident, an 18-year-old Palestinian was injured in the thigh by shrapnel, Wafa reported.
US ‘urgently’ seeks information as Turkey condemns shooting
US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew told X: “We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of his (Ezgi Eygi’s) death, and we will say more as we learn more. Our priority is not the safety of American citizens.”
We are aware of the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Eygi, today in the West Bank. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death and will share more as more becomes available…
— Ambassador Jack Lew (@USAmbIsrael) September 6, 2024
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States was “urgently gathering more information” and “will have more to say as we know more.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that by killing its citizen, “Israel is trying to intimidate all those who come to the aid of the Palestinian people and who peacefully fight against the genocide. This policy of violence will not work.”
“Israeli authorities who commit crimes against humanity and those who unconditionally support them will be held accountable before international courts,” the statement read.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed its “immense shock” at the killing in a message on X, saying: “We know that Israel will at best say ‘we will investigate’ and the international community will ask Israel to investigate itself.”
“This would be a hackneyed farce, a set-up that we have seen time and again every time the Israeli army is caught red-handed. Only sanctions can prevent such atrocities!” he said.
The UK-based Peace and Justice Project said in a post on X that the killing was “the result of an emboldened Israel committing acts of ethnic cleansing with the support of the British and US governments”.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a news conference that the organization wanted a “full investigation into the circumstances” surrounding the incident and that “people should be held accountable,” adding that “civilians must be protected at all times.”
Ezgi Eygi was part of the International Solidarity Movement, which describes itself as a Palestinian-led movement “committed to resisting the long-entrenched and systematic oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people, using nonviolent and direct action methods and principles.”
She was protesting Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which has intensified since Israel began its war on Gaza in October.
The vast majority of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal, and the administration of US President Joe Biden says the settlements are “incompatible with international law.”
But the United States has provided diplomatic cover to Israel over the years, with Washington routinely using its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to shield Israel from diplomatic censure.
