The Israel Defense Forces said it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area.”
The Israel Defense Forces said it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area.” The statement said that Israeli forces in the area of Beita, in the northern West Bank, “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.”
“The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review,” it said.
Jonathan Pollak, a longtime Israeli activist, said the shooting took place about 30 minutes after protesters had dispersed, when there were no active clashes, and as foreign volunteers, including Eygi, stood observing about 200 yards from the Israeli military.
“There was no justification for taking that shot,” he said.
National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that the United States was “deeply disturbed by the tragic death” of Eygi and had contacted Israel “to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a trip to the Caribbean, said Friday that the U.S. government is “intensely focused on getting those facts,” but he held back from detailing whether there would be consequences for the Israeli government ahead of understanding exactly what happened.
“I just want to extend my deepest condolences, the condolences of the United States government, to the family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. We deplore this tragic loss,” he told reporters when asked what message he had for Americans who were concerned that the U.S. government was sending military aid to the Israeli government.
“When we have more info, we’ll share it. We’ll make it available. And, as necessary, we’ll act on it,” Blinken said.
When Pollak and his colleagues arrived in Beita on Friday, soldiers were already deployed around a site where people were set to perform Friday prayers, he said. As soon as the prayers were over, “clashes began,” he said. The soldiers used tear gas and live ammunition “almost immediately.” There was also “stone throwing” at the soldiers, he said.
The ISM activists retreated down a hill, about 200 yards from the town where the soldiers were stationed. “We stood there for about half an hour,” he said. The soldiers took over a rooftop in the town, he said, calling it “a controlling rooftop.” Eygi was in an olive grove, according to Pollak and an ISM volunteer who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
“I didn’t see her at the moment of the shooting because I was looking at the soldiers,” said Pollak, referring to Eygi. “I saw the soldiers shooting. I saw the flare. I saw them aiming,” he said. He and the second volunteer said there were two shots — one that struck a metal object and another that hit Eygi in the head.
“We were clearly visible to the army; there was nothing happening where we were standing,” the volunteer said. “We were internationals,” said the volunteer, adding that Palestinian youths who had clashed with the soldiers were much farther away, up the hill. “We were just standing there.”
A video of the aftermath of the shooting showed what appears to be military vehicles on a hill as an ambulance speeds away below them.
Pollak said Eygi’s killing was not “an isolated incident. Seventeen people have been killed at demonstrations in Beita since 2021.”
“The only reason we are hearing about it now is because it’s happening to an American,” he said. “It’s devastating.”
In the background of Friday’s protest is a sustained effort by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to expand Israel’s control over the West Bank, by approving land seizures and major settlement construction while escalating demolitions of Palestinian property and increasing state support for illegally built settler outposts.
The campaign has resulted in the most significant territorial changes in the West Bank in decades and buoyed a radical Jewish settler movement, backed by right-wing cabinet members trying to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state. The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on illegal settler outposts and on Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians — measures that have had little effect on the expansion of settlements or the sharp escalation of settler violence.
The ISM, in a statement, said Beita had seen ongoing demonstrations against the construction of illegal Israeli outposts on the village’s land. Eygi, who was from Seattle and had arrived in the Palestinian territories this week, was in Beita to attend one of the weekly Friday demonstrations, the statement said. She was the third ISM volunteer killed since 2003.
Rachel Corrie, a 23-year old ISM activist from Olympia, Wash., was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in March 2003, as she and others tried to prevent the razing of Palestinian homes by Israeli forces along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Her family argued in court that her killing had been intentional. Israeli military investigations found no wrongdoing.
Less than a month later, Tom Hurndall, a British ISM volunteer, was shot in the head by an IDF sniper in Gaza as Hurndall was trying to rescue children who had come under fire. The sniper, Taysir al-Heib, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in prison but released early. Hurndall, who fell into a coma, died nine months later.
Turkey’s government, which has been sharply critical of Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war, on Friday condemned what it said was the “murder” of Eygi “committed by the Netanyahu government” and said Israel was trying to “intimidate” people who came to help Palestinians, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.
Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Eygi’s home state, said in a statement: “I am heartbroken and angry about the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American citizen, in the West Bank today, who was reportedly peacefully protesting against illegal settlement activity. The government of Israel must deliver answers immediately and hold the perpetrators of this killing accountable.”
Eygi’s profile on LinkedIn said she was a recent psychology graduate “with a minor in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of Washington.” Her volunteer work, it said, “has allowed me to make an impact both locally and internationally.” Her résumé said she had worked with students, children with autism and as a legal assistant.
“I’m driven by a passion for making a positive impact and continuously seek opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute to meaningful projects,” her profile said. She graduated from college, it said, in June.
Fahim reported from Beirut, Morris from Berlin, Hudson from Washington and Birnbaum from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Steve Hendrix in Jerusalem and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
