A 26-year-old American-Turkish woman, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was fatally shot by Israeli forces on Friday during a protest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Eygi was participating in a demonstration near the Palestinian village of Beita, protesting the expansion of an Israeli settlement, when Israeli troops reportedly opened fire. The incident has prompted calls for an investigation from both the U.S. and Turkish governments.
Eyewitnesses at the scene reported that Eygi was shot in the head by Israeli forces, who were responding to clashes that erupted during the protest. Israeli military officials confirmed they had fired at what they described as a “main instigator of violent activity” who was throwing rocks at soldiers. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were investigating reports that a foreign national had been killed in the shooting.
Eygi, a recent graduate of the University of Washington and a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was rushed to Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, where she later died of her injuries. Doctors at the hospital said her injuries were too severe to save her life.
The U.S. State Department confirmed Eygi’s death but did not attribute it directly to Israeli forces. In a statement, the White House expressed being “deeply disturbed” by the killing and urged Israel to investigate the circumstances of her death. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the killing, holding Israel responsible and vowing to seek justice.
The protest was part of a regular weekly demonstration against the Evyatar settlement, which has been a flashpoint for violence. The settlement, built on what Palestinians consider occupied land, was unauthorized by the Israeli government until earlier this year. Protests at Beita, where the settlement is located, have frequently resulted in clashes between demonstrators and Israeli soldiers.
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