BEIRUT/ANKARA — A dual US-Turkish national succumbed to her wounds on Friday, after being shot in the head earlier in the day by Israeli military forces in the northern occupied West Bank.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was taking part in an anti-settlement march held by activists in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, when Israeli forces opened fire on them, reported WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency.
Israeli soldiers fired live bullets, smoke bombs and tear gas at the crowds, also injuring an 18-year-old, according to WAFA.
Eygi was taken to the Rafidia Surgical Hospital, in Nablus, where she was later pronounced dead. Hospital officials confirmed a bullet to the head as the cause of death, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency reported.
The Israeli army said it was reviewing the situation. “Today [Friday], during Israeli security forces activity adjacent to the area of Beita, the forces responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.”
“The IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review,” the statement added.
Eygi was a volunteer with the local Faz3a initiative, a campaign launched in 2019 by activists to protect Palestinian farmers while harvesting their crops in the face of settler attacks. Anti-settlement protests like the one today have become a weekly event as Israel has continued to expand settlements and attacks on Palestinians by settlers have increased.
Born in the Turkish Mediterranean province of Antalya, Eygi held dual, Turkish-US citizenship, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement in which it condemned “the Netanyahu government for the murder,” referring to Eygi ‘s killing.
“Israel is trying to intimidate everyone who rushes to the aid of Palestinians and engages in peaceful resistance against the genocide,” the ministry said.
The statement also tacitly slammed the United States. “The Israeli authorities, who commit crimes against humanity, and those who support them unconditionally, will certainly be held accountable before international courts,” it read.
In the first comment by Washington on the incident, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement, “We are aware of the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Eygi, today in the West Bank. We offer our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death, and will have more to say as we learn more. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.”
Eygi is at least the third US citizen known to have been killed in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza last October.
In February, Mohammad Ahmad Alkhdour, 17, was reportedly shot twice by Israeli forces while driving his car near the town of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem.
Earlier in January, another 17-year-old American-Palestinian national, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, was killed in similar circumstances. While driving along a highway in the northern West Bank, Jabbar came under fire by Israeli settlers, according to local reports, causing his car to overturn.
Washington condemned both killings, while Israeli police vowed to open investigations.
Eygi’s killing comes as tensions in the West Bank remain high after Israel launched a major military operation against armed groups last week across the occupied territory.
In addition to daily military raids into its towns and villages, West Bank Palestinians have also experienced a rise in attacks by settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war.
At least 1,264 incidents of settler violence — including armed attacks, harassment, and destruction of property — took place between Oct. 7, 2023, and Aug. 12, 2024, the International Crisis Group said in a report released Friday, citing data from OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The violence in the West Bank has resulted in at least 652 Palestinians being killed between Oct. 7 and Sept. 2, OCHA said in a report on Wednesday. Of those, 634 were killed by Israeli soldiers and 11 by Israeli settlers. Those responsible for the remaining 7 deaths remain unknown.