White House calls for investigation into killing of American woman in West Bank

The White House on Friday called on Israel to investigate the death of 26-year-old American Aysenur Eygi in the occupied West Bank.

Earlier, a protester told the Associated Press that Israeli forces shot an American woman during an anti-settlement demonstration in the West Bank. Two doctors said she was shot in the head, the AP reported.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of American citizen Aysenur Egzi Eygi in the West Bank today, and our condolences go out to her family and loved ones,” White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “We have reached out to the Israeli government to request additional information and call for an investigation into the incident.”

Eygi was a dual citizen and also held Turkish citizenship. In a statement, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said he condemned Israel's “barbaric intervention against a civilian protest against the occupation in the West Bank.”

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) confirmed that Eygi took part in its weekly demonstration in the town of Beita, north of Ramallah, against the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In a statement, the organization said the protest was attended by “mainly praying men and children” and was met with violence by the Israeli army, which fired tear gas and then used live ammunition.

According to ISM, Eygi was shot in the head and died shortly after being taken to a hospital in Nablus. Eygi is the 18th protester killed in Beita since 2020, and the only non-Palestinian, according to ISM.

Since October 7, at least two more American citizens have been killed in the West Bank. 17-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour was killed by IDF troops in February, and 17-year-old Tawfic Hafeth Abdel Jabbar was killed by Israeli fire in January.

The Israel Defense Forces said they were in the area adjacent to Beita and “responded with fire to a main instigator of the violence who threw stones at the forces and posed a threat to them.”

The IDF added that it was investigating reports that a foreign national was killed by gunfire in the area.

“The details of the incident and the circumstances under which it was taken are currently under review,” it said in a statement.

Israeli settlements have expanded rapidly in recent years, while violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased. In April, Human Rights Watch published a report claiming that armed settlers had violently and violently evicted Palestinian residents from at least five West Bank settlements “with the active participation of army units.”

Israeli forces appear to be withdrawing from the city of Jenin and other parts of the West Bank, where Israeli forces have been conducting a deadly operation for several days that has left destruction in many neighborhoods and beyond.

According to the Israeli armed forces, at least 14 people were killed in Jenin, whom they identified as terrorists. Among them was Wassem Hazem, the head of Hamas in Jenin, who is said to have ordered shootings and bomb attacks in the area.

In addition, more than 30 people were taken into Israeli custody as suspects. However, the military did not provide any further details about the suspicions against them.

Palestinian health authorities said on Thursday that at least 39 people had been killed in the West Bank since Israel launched an operation to dismantle “terrorist cells” in the area on August 28.

According to current information, many of those killed were members of the militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. However, the Palestinian Health Ministry stated that at least eight children were among those killed.

“For over a week, Israeli forces have used lethal, war-like tactics across the northern West Bank, exacerbating people's humanitarian needs and raising concerns about excessive use of force,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a humanitarian update released on Wednesday.

OCHA said Israeli forces killed 30 Palestinians in the area, including seven children, from August 27 to September 2. “This is the highest weekly death toll since November 2023.”

In 2022, Israel acknowledged that one of its soldiers shot and killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was covering raids in the occupied West Bank for Al Jazeera at the time. No one in the Israeli army has been prosecuted, and the military has not announced any disciplinary action.