The Guardian / September 9, 2024
Palestinian Authority holds ceremony for Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi who was allegedly shot by Israeli troops during protest.
The Palestinian Authority has held a funeral procession for an American-Turkish activist who a witness says was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week during a demonstration against Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Dozens of mourners – including several leading officials of the western-backed authority – attended the procession in Nablus for Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship.
Eygi’s body was draped in a Palestinian flag and her face was covered with a traditional black-and-white keffiyeh as security forces carried her and then placed her into a Palestinian ambulance.
A Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson said the country was working on repatriating Eygi’s remains for burial in the Aegean coastal town of Didim according to her family’s wishes. Because the land crossing between the West Bank and Jordan was closed on Sunday after an attack on Israeli civilians, the ministry was trying to have Eygi’s body flown to Turkey.
US officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli peace activist who participated in Friday’s protest with Eygi, said she posed no threat when Israeli forces allegedly shot her. He said the killing happened during a period of calm after clashes between soldiers and Palestinian protesters.
Pollak said he saw two Israeli soldiers mount the roof of a nearby home, train a gun in the group’s direction and fire, with one of the bullets striking Eygi in the head.
The Israeli military has said it is investigating what happened. On Saturday it said an “initial inquiry” found that security forces had been deployed to disperse a riot near the town of Beita involving Palestinian and Israeli civilians that “included mutual rock hurling”. The security forces had fired shots in the air, the military said.
Eygi’s family has called on the Biden administration to launch an independent investigation into her killing. The family’s statement was published by the International Solidarity Movement, the organization Eygi was volunteering with at the time of her death.
There has been an increase in violence in the West Bank since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, with increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis, and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians.
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Body of US-Turkish citizen shot in West Bank to be returned to Turkey for burial
Lizzie Porter
The National / September 9, 2024
The body of a US-Turkish citizen killed by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank last week will be returned to Turkey for burial at her family’s request, the country’s Foreign Ministry has said.
Palestinians held a symbolic funeral ceremony for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday, near where she was shot dead on Friday in the village of Beita, a village to the south.
The 26-year-old activist’s body was carried through the city’s streets as part of an official ceremony attended by the Nablus Governor Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Footage published by Turkish state news agency Anadolu showed officials laying a wreath of flowers on her body, which was draped with a Palestinian flag and a traditional keffiyeh scarf.
The bullet that killed Eygi was fired by Israeli soldiers, a witness told The National. A forensic report cited by Douglas also said the death was caused by an Israeli bullet.
Turkish authorities are continuing efforts to bring Eygi’s body from the West Bank to Turkey, where she will be buried on the country’s Aegean coast, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
“It is planned that the body will be buried in the Didim district of Aydın upon the request of the deceased’s family,” the spokesperson said in written remarks provided to journalists.
“Our Jerusalem Consulate General is following up on the process in contact with local authorities in order to complete the procedures as soon as possible. Our Los Angeles Consulate General has provided the necessary co-ordination for our citizen’s family members to come to our country.”
The date of her burial remains unclear as her body has not yet left the West Bank. A fatal shooting of three Israelis at the Allenby Bridge border point on Sunday prompted the closure of all border crossings between the West Bank and Jordan, complicating efforts to reunite Eygi’s family with her body.
“Within this framework, upon the request of our citizen’s family, we are working on the option of bringing the body directly to Turkey by plane in order to avoid delays in the transfer of the body,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry representative continued.
Eygi, who had been living in Seattle, was a US-Turkish citizen who three months ago graduated from Washington University in psychology, with a minor in Middle Eastern languages and cultures. She was volunteering in the West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement, which describes itself as a non-violent support movement opposing Israeli violations against Palestinians. In her LinkedIn profile, she described herself as, “driven by a passion for making a positive impact and continuously seeking opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute to meaningful projects”.
According to a statement from the International Solidarity Movement, Eygi was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire during a weekly protest, which it said mostly consisted of men and children praying.
“The Israeli forces fired two rounds,” the statement said. “One hit a Palestinian man in the leg, injuring him. The other round was fired at international human rights activists who were observing the demonstration, striking a human-rights activist in the head. Eygi died shortly after being transported to a local hospital in Nablus.”
The organization denied reports that its activists were throwing rocks during the protest. “Aysenur was more than 200 metres away from where the Israeli soldiers were, and there were no confrontations there at all in the minutes before she was shot,” it said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment, but in an earlier statement said they were “looking into” reports that a foreign citizen had been shot, and added that “details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review”. The US State Department condemned her killing but ultimately said it had no reason to believe it was intentional.
The incident is likely to further sour relations between Turkey and Israel, which have already deteriorated rapidly since Hamas’s October 7 attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed and over 240 taken hostage by Palestinian militants. Senior Turkish officials have exchanged barbs with Israeli officials over social media: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “vampire”, while Israeli officials have posted AI-generated images of the Turkish leader accusing him of supporting Hamas. Turkey halted trade with Israel in May over the war in Gaza, in which over 40,900 people have been killed, although it has not downgraded diplomatic ties.
Eygi’s family have asked for privacy and have not so far given any media interviews.
Lizzy Porter is an Istanbul-based journalist
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Funeral held for an American activist a witness says was shot dead by Israeli troops
Imad Issied
AP / September 9, 2024
NABLUS, West Bank – The Palestinian Authority held a funeral procession Monday for an American activist who a witness says was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week following a demonstration against settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Dozens of mourners — including several leading officials of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority — attended the procession for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship.
Eygi’s body was draped in a Palestinian flag and her face was covered with a traditional black-and-white checkered scarf as security forces carried her and then placed her into a Palestinian ambulance.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli said his country was working on repatriating Eygi’s remains for burial in the Aegean coastal town of Didim as per her family’s wishes. Because the land crossing between the West Bank and Jordan was closed Sunday after an attack on Israeli civilians, the ministry was trying to have the body flown to Turkey.
U.S. officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli peace activist who participated in Friday’s protest with Eygi, said she posed no threat when Israeli forces shot her. He said the killing happened during a period of calm after clashes between soldiers and Palestinian protesters.
Pollak said he saw two Israeli soldiers mount the roof of a nearby home, train a gun in the group’s direction and fire, with one of the bullets striking Eygi in the head.
The Israeli military says it is investigating what happened. On Saturday it said an “initial inquiry” found that security forces had been deployed to disperse a riot near the town of Beita involving Palestinian and Israeli civilians that “included mutual rock hurling.” The security forces had fired shots in the air, the military said.
Eygi’s family has called on the Biden administration to launch an independent investigation into the killing. The family’s statement was published by International Solidarity Movement, the organization Eygi was volunteering with at the time of her death.
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, with increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis, and attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians.
