The family of the Turkish-American woman killed in a clash at a pro-Palestine protest in the West Bank is blaming Israel directly for her death and demanding an independent investigation into the deadly incident.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was shot in the head Friday while protesting in the Israeli-occupied town of Beita.
The Israeli military said in a statement that troops fired at an “instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.”
A witness said that he saw Eygi “lying on the ground, next to an olive tree, bleeding to death” after the shots rang out. She was brought to a hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus, where she was pronounced dead.
Eygi’s family and the International Solidarity Movement, which she was protesting alongside, insist the demonstration was peaceful.
“Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter,” her family said in a statement shared on social media.
They called on President Biden, Vice President Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to order an investigation and “ensure full accountability for the guilty parties.”
A spokesperson said the White House is “deeply disturbed” by Eygi’s death and has requested an investigation and more information from Israel. Blinken said the administration is “intensely focused” on gathering facts before taking action.
“We welcome the White House’s statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur’s killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate,” her family said.
The United Nations is also calling for a probe and said that civilians “must be protected at all times.”
“We would want to see a full investigation of the circumstances and that people should be held accountable,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
The IDF said in a statement that the incident is under review.
The Turkish government called Eygi’s death a “murder carried out by the Netanyahu government” and a spokesperson said it will “ensure that those who killed our citizen [are] brought to justice.”
Eygi graduated from the the University of Washington in the spring and was volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian resistance movement founded in 2001.
Rachel Corrie, a US citizen who was killed when she was run over by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, was also a member of the ISM.
On Friday, Eygi, who held Turkish and US citizenship, was participating in a weekly demonstration held for years that has often led to crackdowns and protester stone-throwing, according to reports.
The ISM denied any stone-throwing, and said in a statement that Eygi did not pose a threat and was “killed in cold blood,” It said it considers Eygi “a martyr in the struggle.”
Eygi’s family described her as “a fiercely passionate human rights activist” who felt “compelled” to travel to the West Bank following graduation.
She studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures at the University of Washington and was active in pro-Palestine student-led protests, according to her family’s statement.
With Post wires