An American woman shot dead in the West Bank last week was likely killed “indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli forces who were aiming at someone else, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was an activist from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship, and a volunteer with the activist group International Solidarity Movement.
There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began, with increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis, attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and heavier military crackdowns on Palestinian protests.
She was killed Friday taking part in a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli protester who witnessed the shooting.
Courtesy of the Eygi family/International Solidarity Movement/AP
Pollak said the shooting occurred about half an hour after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces had subsided.
The Israeli military expressed “its deepest regret,” and said its inquiry found “that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by (Israeli army) fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot.”
Eygi was attending a weekly demonstration against settlement expansion that has been held for years and has often brought Israeli crackdowns and protester stone-throwing.
More than 690 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank according to Palestinian health officials.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing as “unprovoked and unjustified” while speaking Tuesday at a news conference in London.
“No one should be shot while attending a protest. In our judgment the Israeli Security Forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank,” he said.
President Joe Biden’s administration faced new criticism from Democratic lawmakers last week after the news broke.
“3 U.S. citizens have now been killed in the West Bank in 11 months. There MUST be justice & accountability,” Senator Chris Van Hollen posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“The Netanyahu gvt hasn’t provided that & the Biden Admin needs to do more to obtain it. Those responsible must be held accountable & the DOJ must take action if necessary.”
Previous American killings in the West Bank have prompted international outcry.
Prominent Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally shot in 2022 in the Jenin refugee camp.
Months later, the military said there was a “high probability” one of its soldiers had mistakenly killed her but that no one would be punished.
Earlier in 2022, Israel’s military said it would punish a senior officer and remove two others from their posts over the death of Omar Assad, 78, a Palestinian-American who was dragged from a car by Israeli troops, bound and blindfolded after being stopped at a checkpoint.
Nasser Nasser/AP
A funeral procession for Eygi was held in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday.
Turkish authorities said they are working on repatriating her body to Turkey for burial in the Aegean coastal town of Didim.
Human rights groups have criticized Israel, saying it rarely holds soldiers accountable for killing Palestinians, particularly those who do not have dual nationality.
The military says it thoroughly investigates allegations of killing civilians and holds its forces accountable.
It says soldiers often have to make split-second decisions while operating in areas where militants hide among civilians.
Soldiers who are prosecuted often get relatively light sentences.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
