Senator says US ‘cannot turn a blind eye’ as Israeli forces kill Americans in West Bank
US Senator Chris Van Hollen has decried Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank and called for “justice and accountability” for three US citizens killed there in the past 11 months.
In a statement, Van Hollen said the Netanyahu government, “including racist extremists like [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir”, had fuelled settler violence while announcing “new illegal settlements”.
The senator from Maryland said he had met with the families of two other Americans killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in recent months and that the “Biden Administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf”.
“If the Netanyahu Government will not pursue justice for Americans, the US Department of Justice must,” the senator said.
3 U.S. citizens have now been killed in the West Bank in 11 months. There MUST be justice & accountability. The Netanyahu gvt hasn't provided that & the Biden Admin needs to do more to obtain it.
Those responsible must be held accountable & the DOJ must take action if necessary: https://t.co/QTja0vFzkN pic.twitter.com/wTDS0AEJzl
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) September 6, 2024
Recap of US citizens killed by Israeli forces in West Bank and Gaza
Here are some of the US citizens killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces in recent years:
- Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, killed on Friday, in the occupied West Bank.
- Canadian-American Jacob Flickinger, 33, killed along with six colleagues from the US-based aid organisation World Central Kitchen, in Gaza, in April.
- Palestinian-American Tawfiq Ajaq, 17, killed in January, in the occupied West Bank.
- Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank in May 2022.
- American citizen Omar Assad, 80, suffered a stress-induced heart attack after he was arbitrarily detained, bound, blindfolded and gagged by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, in January 2022.
UN demands full investigation into killing of American-Turkish activist
The UN has called for a “full investigation” into the killing by Israeli forces of American-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, while protesting against illegal Israeli settlements in Beita, in the occupied West Bank.
“We would want to see a full investigation of the circumstances and that people should be held accountable,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news conference.
He added that civilians “must be protected at all times”.
American activist shot dead by Israeli sniper: Governor
The autopsy of the American-Turkish activist shot by Israeli forces on Friday showed she was killed by an Israeli sniper, the governor of Nablus has told Al Jazeera.
Twenty-six-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was taking part in the protest against illegal Israeli settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus.
Earlier, we reported that Eygi was shot when Israeli forces fired live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas at demonstrators.
