American Shot Dead at West Bank Demo Where Israeli Forces Opened Fire

AFP/APP

Palestinian Territories: A Turkish-American woman was shot dead Friday during a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank town of Beita, where the Israeli army acknowledged opening fire.

Turkey identified the woman as Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and condemned her death, while the United States called the incident a “tragic” event and urged its ally Israel to investigate.

The UN rights office reported that Israeli forces killed Eygi with a “shot in the head”, and an AFP photographer witnessed medics rushing her to a Nablus hospital with her head wrapped in bandages.

According to the UN, Eygi, 26, was participating in a “peaceful anti-settlement protest” in Beita, a town that has seen regular demonstrations against Israeli settlements. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where approximately 490,000 settlers reside, are considered illegal under international law.

The Eviatar settlement outpost, overlooking Beita, has been supported by far-right Israeli ministers and has drawn protestors to the nearby hillside in recent years. Israeli forces have killed multiple Palestinians during these demonstrations.

Eygi was brought to Rafidia hospital in Nablus “with a gunshot in the head” and was later pronounced dead, said hospital director Fouad Nafaa.

Turkey denounced the killing, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the Israeli action as “barbaric”. Israel’s key ally, the United States, said it had reached out to the Israeli government for more information.

“We are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen,” stated White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Qatar, a key mediator in efforts to end the Gaza conflict, condemned the “Israeli occupation’s assassination” of Eygi as a “heinous crime”. A statement from its foreign ministry added 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.”