The killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, during a protest against illegal Jewish settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district, has been condemned worldwide.
The family of the Turkish-American activist who was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Friday has urged the US government to order an independent investigation into her death.
At the same, the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, during a protest against illegal Jewish settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district, has been condemned worldwide.
“A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter. We welcome the White House’s statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur’s killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate,” Eygi’s family said in a statement.
This is a sequence of the events that led to the death of Aysenur Ezgi, according to eyewitnesses’ accounts conveyed to the Palestine Chronicle reporter in the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/5V9L1KmUfP
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) September 6, 2024
“We call on President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary of State Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties,” they added.
Witnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened live fire on a group participating in a demonstration condemning the illegal settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus.
They said Eygi, an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteer, was standing away from the main protest area when she was fatally shot. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, medical workers were unable to save her.
‘Killed in Cold Blood’ – ISM
In a statement, the ISM refuted some media reports which it said “repeated false claims that ISM activists threw rocks” during “the peaceful demonstration” in Beita.
**Press Release: Israeli army kills American International Solidarity Movement volunteer during demonstration in Beita, Nablus**
Read ISM's press release here: https://t.co/vtd7JOAmku #freepalestine pic.twitter.com/oEXHzl7tzb
— ISM Palestine (@ISMPalestine) September 6, 2024
“All eye witness accounts refute this claim. Aysenur was more than 200 meters away from where the Israeli soldiers were, and there were no confrontations there at all in the minutes before she was shot. Regardless, from such distance, neither she, nor anyone else could have possibly been perceived as posing any threat. She was killed in cold blood.”
“Aysenur, who we consider a martyr in the struggle,” was the 18th demonstrator to be killed in Beita since 2020, the statement said.
ISM volunteer Mariam Dag (a pseudonym), who witnessed the fatal injury of her comrade, said “This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the US and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza. Palestinians have suffered far too long under the weight of colonization.”
‘Barbaric’ – Turkish President
Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned “Israel’s barbaric intervention against a civilian protest against the occupation in the West Bank.”
“As Turkey, we will continue to work on every platform to end Israel’s occupation and genocide policy, which has been continuing for almost a year and has killed 41 thousand people, including children, young and old, and to make it account for its crimes against humanity before the law,” Erdogan said.
İsrail’in Batı Şeria’daki işgal karşıtı sivil bir protestoya karşı yaptığı barbarca müdahaleyi lanetliyor, saldırıda hayatını kaybeden vatandaşımız Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’ye Allah’tan rahmet niyaz ediyorum.…
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) September 6, 2024
‘Full Investigation’ – United Nations
The UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference on Friday: “I can tell you that we would want to see a full investigation of the circumstances and that people should be held accountable.
“Again, civilians must be must be protected at all times,” he added.
‘Tired Sham’ – Euro-Med Monitor
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said, “We know Israel will at best claim ‘we’ll investigate’ & the international community will call on Israel to investigate itself.”
“This would be a tired sham; a stunt that we have seen countless times whenever the IDF is caught red-handed. Only sanctions can deter such atrocities!,” the organization said on X.
We received with a huge shock the news of Israel's killing of US-Turkish activist Aysenur Eygi with a direct shot to the head in the occupied West Bank.
Eygi, a graduate of @UW, dedicated her life to volunteering for worthy causes including helping children with autism &… pic.twitter.com/H3e5bF6HGT
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) September 6, 2024
‘Heinous Crime’ – Qatar
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the “heinous crime” against Eygi is in line with “the series of repeated brutal Israeli occupation crimes against the Palestinian cause and human rights.”
It warned that “the silence of the international community in the face of these horrific violations is a renewed incentive for the occupation to commit more atrocities.”
Statement: Qatar Condemns Assassination of American-Turkish Citizen in South Nablus#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/uVEpQ3cD43
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) September 6, 2024
‘Daily Violations’ – Egypt
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the killing is “a new example of the Israeli daily violations against Palestinian civilians and solidarity activists.”
In a statement, the Ministry reportedly the international community is facing an “unprecedented moral dilemma” due to the atrocities committed against the civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.
‘Accountability’ – Jordan
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry demanded that those responsible for Eygi’s killing be held accountable.
In a statement, the ministry strongly condemned Eygi’s killing, describing it as a “heinous crime that requires holding those responsible accountable.”
It reportedly added that the killing of Eygi is a continuation of Israel’s crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
‘Predetermined Plans’ – Palestinian Foreign Ministry
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called Eygi’s killing “an integral part of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.”
It added that such a crime is “a direct outcome of the implementation of the instructions” of Israeli politicians with the aim of killing Palestinians and solidarity activists.
The ministry held the Israeli government fully responsible for the crime that confirms its predetermined plans to escalate the situation to cover its colonial projects across the occupied territories, reported the Anadolu news agency.
‘Unprovoked’ – Jill Stein
US Presidential candidate, Dr Jill Stein, said on X her killing was “unprovoked.”
Israeli soldiers “murdered her in cold blood with a killshot directly to the head,” she added.
Aysenur Eygi was just 26, a recent graduate from @UW. After graduation this year, Aysenur joined a group of activists with @ISMPalestine, to hold the line as a peace activist against illegal Israeli “settlements” in the West Bank.
That’s where she was when, unprovoked, IDF… pic.twitter.com/WcOpSnDIDn
— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) September 6, 2024
Stein said months ago, following the deaths of three US soldiers in Jordan by “rebels”, Biden “forcefully declared: ‘If you harm an American, we will respond.’”
“Well, they murdered an American today. Will you finally stop arming the murderers, @JoeBiden?” she asked.
‘Deliberate Crimes’ – Hamas
The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas condemned “in the strongest terms the crime committed by the zionist occupation army in targeting” the activist.
“We consider this heinous crime an extension of the occupation’s deliberate crimes against foreign solidarity activists with our Palestinian people, which have claimed the lives of dozens of them, perhaps the most prominent of whom is the solidarity activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed under the tracks of the occupation’s tanks in 2003,” the movement said in a statement.
The Sequence of Events that Led to the Murder of American-Turkish Activist – Eyewitnesses
“These crimes continue in the West Bank with systematic and continuous attacks on solidarity activists by the occupation army and its settler gangs, as happens in all peaceful solidarity events and marches in the villages and towns of the West Bank threatened by settlement and Judaization project,” Hamas said.
The movement called on the international community, the United Nations, and all its political, humanitarian, human rights, and judicial institutions, “to act immediately to rein in the occupation government, and hold it accountable for its fascist behavior that denies all international laws.”
‘Terrible Tragedy’ – US Rep Pramila Jayapal
US Rep Pramila Jayapal said Eyge’s killing was a “terrible tragedy.”
“I am very troubled by the reports that she was killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The Netanyahu government has done nothing to stop settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, often encouraged by right-wing ministers of the Netanyahu government.
“The killing of an American citizen is a terrible proof point in this senseless war of rising tensions in the region,” Jayapal said in a statement.
“My heart goes out to Aysenur’s family, friends, and loved ones. This is a terrible tragedy, and I extend my condolences to all those in mourning today.
“My office is actively working to gather more information on the events that led to her death,” Jayapal added.
(PC, Anadolu)
It’s time for US Presidential candidate, Dr Jill Stein and other US citizens to use the countless US anti-terrorism laws against the US complicity in this murder and all the ones on the West Bank, Gaza and what is now called Israel. There’s US laws on preventing financial support for terrorism, which apply in this case, as the only reason a military could have for shooting unarmed protesters is to terrorize them.