Palestinians march in honor of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Eygi in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Sunday. Witnesses said Israeli forces shot and killed Eygi during a pro-Palestinian protest on Friday.
Raneen Sawafta/Reuters
hide caption
convert caption
Raneen Sawafta/Reuters
Editor’s Note: This story contains descriptions of violence.
The US State Department on Monday urged Israel to act quickly to investigate the fatal shooting of an American woman during a protest against Israeli settlements in the West Bank last week. Witnesses said she was shot in the head by Israeli forces who were monitoring the protest. Israeli authorities said they were investigating the incident.
Aysenur Eygi, 26 years old, was killed last Friday while participating in a protest as part of the pro-Palestinian activist organization called the International Solidarity Movement, or ISM. For the past two months, ISM volunteers and other international activists have been protesting against a settlement outpost called Evyatar, which was originally an unauthorized offshoot of the older Beita settlement.
While the international community considers all Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to be violation of international lawSuch unauthorized outposts are illegal even under Israeli law. But in July, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—himself a settler and ultranationalist—legalized Evyatar and several other outposts.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters on Monday that Israel had promised to share its findings with the United States first. “We expect that to happen as quickly as possible. We expect that process to be thorough. We expect that process to be transparent,” Patel said.
That’s probably not enough to satisfy Eygi’s family, who are calling on the Biden administration to push for an independent investigation into the killing “to ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable.” family statement Friday.
Witnesses said Israeli forces shot Aysenur Eygi
Eygi, a U.S. and Turkish citizen, had recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle and had come to the West Bank to demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinians. They were protesting the expansion of Israeli settlements across the West Bank — a process they say has accelerated since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel last October. The attack in Israel has killed 1,200 people, according to Israel. In response, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 41,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
Eygi had arrived in Israel just two days before she was killed and joined Palestinians from local communities in prayer on a hilltop overlooking the Evyatar outpost before the protests began, ISM activists said. told NPR.
Vivi Chen, an activist at the scene, said the Israeli army showed up shortly after the prayer.
“They basically pushed us down the hill. At this point, the military threw tear gas. They fired a few live rounds,” she said.
Witnesses said there was some fighting and rock throwing. Activist Jay Harrison hid behind a trash can and started running when a shot hit his hiding spot. That’s when he said he heard another shot about 15 feet away. “I saw someone collapse and fall backwards,” he said. He recognized it as Eygi. He ran to check her pulse, but it was weak.
“I could see blood coming out of their noses. Their eyes weren’t completely closed. You could see her eyes were rolling back,” he said.
A doctor said she had stopped breathing when she arrived at the hospital.
An ambulance took Eygi to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, the main city in the northern West Bank, where she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. The hospital’s director, Dr. Fouad Nafaa, said she arrived with fixed dilated pupils and no pulse. She was not breathing and part of her brain had spilled out. He said doctors performed six cycles of CPR but were unable to save her.
The Israeli military said in a statement that troops opened fire on “instigators” who were throwing rocks at them.
But Harrison disputed that assertion. “There’s no way anyone could have thrown rocks at them,” he said.
Chen, another activist who was there that day, insisted it was a deliberate shot. “It wasn’t like hundreds of bullets were flying through the air and she was hit by accident,” Chen said. “She was just moving down the hill, and then she ended up standing next to an olive tree.”
Israeli military strikes and settler violence have increased since October 7, including a major Israeli military offensive on Jenin and two other towns in the northern occupied West Bank in recent weeks. In total, the attacks have killed more than 650 Palestinians, according to the United Nations.
ISM says at least three of its activists have been killed since 2000. American ISM activist Rachel Corrie crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza in 2003.
Palestinians hold a parade
Eygi’s death shocked and saddened the entire University of Washington.
“I was devastated. The whole community was,” said Aria Fani, Eygi’s former translation studies teacher. Seattle Times. He described Eygi as “one of the most outstanding students” he ever taught.
Associated Press reported that The Palestinian Authority held a funeral for Eygi on Monday in the West Bank city of Nablus, but Türkiye wants to move the body there for burial.
Hadeel Al-Shalchi reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Michele Kelemen and James Hider reported from Washington, DC.
