Israel’s military said on Tuesday it is “highly likely” American Aysenur Eygi was “indirectly and unintentionally” shot and killed by the Israel Defense Force during a protest in the West Bank last week, according to an initial probe, following criticism of Israel’s response by Eygi’s family and U.S. officials.
The White House said it was “deeply disturbed” by Eygi’s death after she was shot during a protest ... [+]
An early investigation found it is “highly likely” Eygi—also a Turkish citizen—was shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by IDF fire, which was aimed at the “key instigator” of a “violent riot” and not Eygi, the IDF said.
Eygi, a 26-year-old volunteer with the activist group International Solidarity Movement, attended a weekly protest on Friday against Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank town of Beita before she was shot and killed by IDF soldiers, according to the group.
The IDF said the incident took place during a “violent riot” in which dozens of people “burned tires and hurled rocks” toward IDF forces, a claim the International Solidarity Movement previously denied by saying IDF soldiers fired tear gas and live ammunition at praying protestors.
In response to the IDF’s report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the IDF should make “fundamental changes” in the way it operates in the West Bank, adding the shooting was “not acceptable” and “no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest.”
Israel has requested an autopsy, the IDF said, adding it “expresses its deepest regret” over Eygi’s death.
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Eygi’s family released a statement on Saturday saying Eygi—also a Turkish citizen—was “peacefully standing for justice” before she was shot by Israel’s military. Her family argued that “given the circumstances” of Eygi’s death, “an Israeli investigation is not adequate.” Several Turkish and U.S. officials have condemned Israel’s response to the Beita protest, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called the IDF’s shooting a “barbaric intervention.” Sean Savett, a National Security Council spokesperson, said the White House was “deeply disturbed” by the incident, adding the U.S. had requested an investigation and more information.
Eygi is a recent graduate of the University of Washington and was raised in Seattle, her family said. Aria Fani, a professor of Middle Eastern languages and cultures at the university, told the Associated Press Eygi had previously participated in pro-Palestinian protests before traveling to the West Bank, which Fani tried to convince her not to do. International organizations have cautioned against traveling to the region since Hamas—which controlled the Gaza Strip and is separate from the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank—attacked Israel in October. As of Aug. 21, the United Nations estimated more than 600 people have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, mostly by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied territory. Other civilians have been killed before the attack in recent years, however, including Al Jazeera journalist and U.S. citizen Shireen Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot while covering an Israeli operation in 2022. The IDF apologized for her death in 2023.
Two other activists with the International Solidarity Movement have been killed in Gaza since 2000. In 2003, American Rachel Corrie was crushed to death as she tried to block an IDF bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home, the Associated Press reported. A month later, British citizen Tom Hurndall was shot in the head by an IDF soldier. The IDF ruled Corrie’s death as an accident, despite condemnation by human rights groups, and the soldier who killed Hurndall was sentenced to over 11 years in prison.