Turkish-American activist killed by Israeli forces in West Bank
Israeli forces have shot dead an American activist of Turkish origin with a live bullet to her head, according to local media. The victim identified as Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was 26 years old and she arrived on Tuesday, sources told Al Jazeera.
The incident occurred in the town of Beita, near Nablus in the West Bank, during the town’s weekly anti-settlement march.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the activist was volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) as part of a campaign to protect Palestinian farmers.
Eygi is the third ISM volunteer killed by the Israeli forces in Palestine. Rachel Corrie was killed in Gaza’s Rafah in 2003 and Tom Hurndall was also killed in Gaza in 2004.
‘Israel is crossing all lines’: Nablus governor on killing of foreign activist
Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas has commented on the killing of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. The 26-year-old was fatally shot in the head by Israeli forces in Beita near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank during a weekly protest.
“This is her life, a foreign citizen holding American nationality … during peaceful popular protests,” Daghlas said.
“All legal measures will be submitted to the International Criminal Court,” he added in a statement. “The bullets do not distinguish between a Palestinian, a child, a woman, or any nationality.”
“Now her life is lost, she is an American citizen holding American nationality, which means Israel is crossing all lines,” the governor continued. “We appeal to President Biden to stop all support to the occupying state because the occupying state is working hard to bomb hospitals and kill children and kill foreigners, including American nationals.”
There was no immediate comment from the US embassy, and the Israeli military said it was looking into the report.
PLO calls for international accountability over killing of American activist
The killing of 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi is yet another crime that requires the perpetrators to be held accountable in international courts, writes Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in a post on X offering condolences to her family.
Eygi was shot in the head by Israeli forces during a demonstration near Nablus in the northern West Bank earlier today.
The Israeli occupation kills an American activist who opposes the occupation and settlements. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends. Another crime added to the series of crimes committed daily by the occupation forces, which require that their perpetrators be held… https://t.co/2zvvSIrN4t
— حسين الشيخ Hussein AlSheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) September 6, 2024
Israeli army comments on killing of US citizen in the occupied West Bank
The Israeli army says it is “looking into reports” of a foreign national killed at a demonstration in Beita near Nablus “as a result of shots fired in the area.”
Palestinian officials and medics have reported that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a US citizen, was fatally shot in the head with live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers.
“The forces responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who was throwing rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them,” the Israeli army statement said.
“The details of the incident and the circumstances surrounding how she was hit are under review.”
Medics transport the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a US citizen who died from a reported gunshot, at a hospital in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on September 6
Eygi was far from action at protest when shot by Israelis: Witnesses
Witnesses say Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, the US citizen shot dead by the Israeli army during a demonstration near Nablus today, was far from the action when she was hit.
“The army was on top of the hill, there was also a sniper on the roof, we were clearly visible, there was nothing happening next to us,” said one witness who was at the protest, adding that “at some point” Israeli soldiers shot two bullets – one that hit “something metal” and one that hit Eygi’s head.
“I found her lying on the ground beneath an olive grove, bleeding to death,” says Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak, another witness.
