The Israeli military admitted that it was “highly likely” their forces accidentally shot and killed US-Turkish citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi during a protest in the West Bank on 6 September. Eygi, 26, was participating in a demonstration against Jewish settlement expansion in Beita, near Nablus.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that their gunfire was aimed at a leading instigator of the protest, not at Eygi, but she was unintentionally hit. Following their investigation, the IDF expressed deep regret over her death, emphasizing that it was not deliberate.
The United States strongly criticized the IDF’s conclusions. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the incident as “unprovoked and unjustified,” stating that the investigation corroborated eyewitness accounts suggesting Eygi had been peacefully protesting when she was shot.
IDF Admits Likely Mistake in Shooting Death of US-Turkish Citizen During West Bank Protest
Blinken further highlighted that individuals should not be at risk of being killed for participating in demonstrations and urged Israel to reform its rules of engagement in the West Bank to avoid similar tragedies.
Eygi’s family expressed profound grief and anger, describing her death as unnecessary and violent. They, along with the United Nations human rights office, have called for an independent and thorough investigation into the circumstances of her killing.
Eygi, who had only recently arrived in the West Bank as a volunteer, was laid to rest in Nablus on 10 September, with hundreds attending her funeral. Palestinian honor guards carried her body during a solemn procession.
The protest group Eygi had been with refuted the IDF’s characterization of the demonstration as violent. While the military claimed that protesters burned tires and threw rocks at soldiers, the group insisted their protest was peaceful.
Eyewitnesses and other demonstrators confirmed that Eygi had not been near any violent clashes when she was shot, further casting doubt on the IDF’s account. Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak, present at the protest, affirmed that there was no stone-throwing where Eygi was located when he heard the gunshots.
The protest Eygi was attending is part of a long-standing opposition to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a contentious issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has built numerous settlements, housing hundreds of thousands of Jews.
These settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this interpretation. Eygi’s death highlights the ongoing tensions and violence surrounding the settlement issue, which continues to be a flashpoint in the region.
