Israeli army killed US-Turkish activist amid no violence: eyewitnesses
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The Israeli occupation forces killed the US-Turkish activist in the occupied West Bank when there were no clashes taking place.
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Palestinians gather around the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, at the morgue of the Rafedia hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus Friday, September 6, 2024 (AP)
Eyewitnesses have reported that 26-year-old American-Turkish human rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest in the occupied West Bank town of Beita on Friday during a peaceful time, with no clashes or violent confrontations.
One of the fellow protesters recounted the moment leading up to Eygi's death, stating, "We were standing, visible to the army, just standing around not doing anything. Nothing was happening. I heard two shots." The witnesses, speaking to Haaretz, emphasized that there was no apparent provocation or reason for the shooting.
Eygi's death has sparked outrage and drew international condemnations. The Beita protest was part of ongoing demonstrations against the expansion of Israeli settlements and land seizures in the area.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, an American-Turkish human rights activist, arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) as part of a campaign to protect Palestinian farmers from settler and IOF violence.
It is worth noting that Eygi would be the third ISM volunteer the IOF murdered, after Rachel Corrie in 2004 and Tom Hurndall in 2005.
"An American solidarity activist arrived at the hospital with a gunshot in the head, and we announced her martyrdom around 14:30," the director of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, Fouad Nafaa said on Friday.
Not an isolated incident
The President of Eygi's alma mater extended condolences to her family and called for a ceasefire in the ongoing war on Gaza. Eygi, who graduated from the University of Washington earlier this year with a degree in psychology, also studied Middle Eastern languages and cultures in her Seattle hometown.
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce described Eygi's death as "awful news" and expressed sympathy for her family and friends.
"Aysenur was a peer mentor in psychology who helped welcome new students to the department and provided a positive influence in their lives," Cauce noted.
"This is the second time over the past year that violence in the region has taken the life of a member of our UW community, and I again join with our government and so many who are working and calling for a ceasefire and resolution to the crisis," Cauce stressed.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen pointed out that Eygi was the third American killed in the occupied West Bank since October of the previous year.
"Biden Administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf," said Van Hollen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "If the Netanyahu Government will not pursue justice for Americans, the US Department of Justice must."
Activist killed was Fazaa campaign volunteer
Fouad Nafaa, director of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, reported to Anadolu Agency that Eygi arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head and, despite medical efforts to revive her, she did not survive. Eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at a group of Palestinians protesting against the illegal Zionist settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus.
Vivi Chen, a volunteer with Fazaa—a pro-Palestine group collaborating with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)—stated that Eygi was crouched near a dumpster at the bottom of a hill when the shooting occurred. Chen confirmed that Eygi was present with ISM.
"We were all at the bottom of the hill and the Israeli army was at the top," Chen recounted.
"There were two volunteers sitting behind a dumpster and they fired one shot at the dumpster. It hit a metal plane. And then there was another shot and they shot – they shot her in the head," Chen stressed.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA confirmed Eygi’s affiliation with the Fazaa campaign, which aims to support and protect Palestinian farmers from violations by illegal Israeli settlers and the military. Residents of Beita hold weekly protests after Friday prayers to oppose the illegal Israeli settlement of Avitar, situated on Mount Sbeih, demanding its removal as a violation of their land rights.
