Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday, claiming “fundamental changes” need to occur within Israeli security.
Blinken’s harshest criticism of Israel since the start of the country’s war with Hamas came following an American activist’s death in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he called “not acceptable.”
“No one, no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest,” Blinken said during a press conference in London. “No one should have to put their life at risk just to purely express their views. The Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank, including changes in their rules of engagement.”
The activist was Aysenur Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish American citizen who was volunteering in the West Bank for the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement. Eygi, a recent graduate of the University of Washington, was believed to have been shot in the head by the IDF during a weekly protest held in the West Bank village of Beita.
Blinken’s rebuke marks a defining moment in the United States’s relationship with Israel. The U.S. previously defended its citizens in the Middle East in a short statement from the White House on Feb. 2, which said, “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world, but let all those who seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”
The statement was not directed at Israel but rather at Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. In his remarks on Tuesday, however, Blinken denounced the killing of Eygi.
“It’s not acceptable and it has to change, and we’ll be making that clear to the senior-most members of the Israeli government,” Blinken said. “It’s clear there are serious issues that need to be dealt with, and we will insist that they be dealt with.”
The killing of Eygi occurred during an Israeli military operation that spanned over a week in what NBC News described as the “deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began.”
“It is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
The IDF said it was a “violent riot” with Palestinians throwing rocks toward the security forces.
The protest was formed against Israel’s settlement expansion in the Palestinian village of Beita. Other activists said some residents were throwing rocks at Israeli forces after Friday prayer, but they were quickly dispersed by live fire and tear gas used by the IDF, according to the Washington Post.
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Eyewitnesses said Eygi was shot in the head while standing near an olive grove after the protesters had already dispersed, with other shots allegedly being fired at the protesters as they were running away, CNN reported.
Blinken said Israel’s investigation into the shooting “seems to show what eyewitnesses have said and made clear, that her killing was both unprovoked and unjustified.”