Ayşenur Eygi's family calls for independent investigation into West Bank death | West Bank

The family of a Turkish-American woman who was shot dead during a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has called for an independent investigation into her death.

Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was “shot in the head” while taking part in a demonstration in Beita in the West Bank on Friday, the UN human rights office said.

“Her presence in our lives was needlessly, unlawfully and violently taken away by the Israeli military,” Eygi’s family said in a statement.

“Ayşenur, a US citizen, was peacefully fighting for justice when she was killed by a bullet that, according to the video, came from an Israeli military gunman.

“We call on President [Joe] Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken should order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable.”

The Israeli military said its forces “responded with fire against a main instigator of the violence who threw stones at the forces and posed a threat to them” during the protest.

Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organization, and was in Beita on Friday for a weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements, according to ISM.

The group on Saturday dismissed as “false” claims that ISM activists had thrown stones at Israeli forces and said the demonstration was peaceful.

“Ayşenur was more than 200 meters away from the Israeli soldiers and there were no confrontations there in the minutes before she was shot,” ISM said.

In recent years, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have frequently held weekly protests against the Eviatar settlement outpost above Beita, which is supported by far-right Israeli ministers.

Eygi was shot in the head during the protests on Friday, according to the UN Office for Human Rights and Rafidia Hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

Turkey said she was killed by “Israeli occupation soldiers” and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the Israeli action as “barbaric.”

Washington spoke of a “tragic” event and urged its close ally Israel to investigate.

However, her family called for an independent investigation.

“Given the circumstances of Ayşenur’s murder, an Israeli investigation is not sufficient,” her family said.

On Saturday, AFP footage showed Eygi's body wrapped in a blue cloth in a morgue next to the body of a teenager who was killed the previous day in another incident in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the Palestinian girl was killed by “occupation bullets (Israel)” in Qaryut near Beita.

On Saturday, Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas accused Israeli forces of killing the two.

“Both were killed by the same bullets… By the same bullets,” he said, referring to the Israeli military.

“We call on the international community to end the insane war against Palestine. Bullets do not distinguish between activists and Palestinian children,” he said.

Eygi's family said she had always campaigned for “an end to violence against the Palestinian people.”

Israeli settlements in the West Bank – home to about 490,000 people – are illegal under international law.

Since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

According to Israeli authorities, at least 23 Israelis, including members of the security forces, were killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period.