Turkiye will take 'every legal step' over Eygi's killing: Erdogan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Sep 2024 22:27

The Turkish leader says the Organization of Islamic Cooperation cannot remain indifferent to the "increasingly audacious" Israeli attacks.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes statements following a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye, on September 09, 2024. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on leaders of Muslim-majority nations to convene at the highest level "without further delay" to support the Palestinian people and defend occupied al-Quds against Israeli attacks.

"The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is tasked with defending the cause of Jerusalem, cannot remain indifferent to these increasingly audacious attacks," Erdogan underscored on Monday following a Cabinet meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

"It’s urgent for the organization to convene at the leadership level without further delay and to demonstrate the decisive stance of the Islamic world," he stressed.

A couple of days ago, Erdogan called on Islamic countries to unite against "Israel's" growing "threat of expansionism."

"The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries," the Turkish President indicated at an Islamic schools' association event near Istanbul.

Addressing the recent killing of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a dual citizen of Turkiye and the United States, at the hands of Israeli occupation forces during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, Erdogan vowed on Monday that Turkiye will take "every legal step" to ensure her blood "was not spilled in vain."

This, according to the Turkish leader, includes pursuing legal action through the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is already investigating allegations of genocide against "Israel".

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi is not the first American activist to be killed by the Israeli occupation.

Here's a brief history of "Israel's" killings of American activists. pic.twitter.com/EodJIy331G
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 8, 2024

Autopsy shows Eygi was killed by sniper’s bullet to head

An autopsy report has confirmed that Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by a sniper's bullet to the head, Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas announced on Saturday, the Anadolu Agency reported.

The United Nations rights office said that Eygi, 26, was "shot in the head" while attending a demonstration in the town of Beita in the occupied West Bank, on Friday.

Fouad Nafaa, Director of the Rafidia Hospital, told Anadolu that Eygi arrived with a gunshot wound to the head and, despite efforts by medical teams, succumbed to her injuries.

Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organization, and was participating in a regular demonstration against Israeli settlements, ISM indicated.

Daghlas told Anadolu that the autopsy results determined that Eygi died from a sniper-inflicted gunshot wound, with the bullet specifically targeting her head before she was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Eygi's family has called for an independent investigation into her death, accusing the Israeli military of killing her "violently".

"Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," the family expressed in a statement.

"A US citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter," the statement pointed out.

"We call on President (Joe) Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris, and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."