17th Activist Death in Beita, West Bank: U.S. Response to Unprovoked Shooting or Accident?

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old activist, was killed by Israeli forces during a protest in Beita, West Bank, marking the 17th activist death in the area. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing as “unprovoked and unjustified,” but President Biden later downplayed it as an “accident.” Calls for an independent investigation by the U.S. and UN are ongoing, with Turkey considering legal action.

CONTENTS:

• Grief, courage, wisdom, humanity, loss
• Compassion, injustice, deliberate, support, tragedy
• Regret, unintentional, peaceful, comparison, injustice
• Sniper, retreat, injury, live rounds, unjustified
• Investigation, accountability, condemnation, international pressure

17th Activist Death in Beita

Grief, courage, wisdom, humanity, loss

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi’s parents wish to have her laid to rest in Didim, Turkey, her birthplace. The 26-year-old activist for Palestine was killed by Israeli forces last Friday while demonstrating against illegal Israeli settlements in Beita, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Turkish authorities have been working tirelessly to arrange for Aysenur’s body to be returned for burial, which is scheduled for Friday. Aysenur, who had recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, was protesting an Israeli settlement in nearby Evyatar when she was shot in the head.

Grief surged for the young activist as a large funeral procession was held for her in Nablus on Tuesday. Senior officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) accompanied her body, which was draped in a Palestinian flag and keffiyeh, before it was taken away by a Palestinian ambulance. Sam Chesneau, co-founder and director of the Seattle-based American-Muslim organization Wasat, where Aysenur had been a member, described her as “an old soul, wise beyond her years, deeply caring, and a profound thinker” with “a great sense of humor.”

“The world grieves for her because we see the best of ourselves in her,” Chesneau said. “She reminds us to accept death and, instead, fear a life of indifference, where we choose safety over our values and humanity.”

 

Compassion, injustice, deliberate, support, tragedy

17th Activist Death in Beita From her family’s home in Didim, Aysenur’s aunt, Gulay Yeniceoglu, told local media that the young activist “was deeply compassionate and couldn’t ignore injustice.” Aysenur was killed during a peaceful protest against the illegal Israeli settlement in Evyatar, which was built on Palestinian land in 2013. Witnesses to her death have disputed Israeli claims that it was accidental.

One of the witnesses, an Italian activist named “Mariam,” who accompanied Aysenur in the ambulance to Beita and then Nablus, where she was pronounced dead, stated, “We were clearly visible to the army, and there was nothing happening around us… it was a deliberate shoot to kill.”

Mariam, who had only met Aysenur upon their arrival in Palestine, described her as “a kind soul” who was “ready to be on the ground supporting the Palestinian cause.” She recalled Aysenur smiling and praying in the garden.

Aysenur’s friend, who had just arrived in the West Bank three days before the incident, told the online platform +972 that the protest in Beita was the first for both of them. “We were completely new,” said the friend, identifying herself as EN. “She understood the risks better than I did; she had a clearer understanding of the situation in various parts of the West Bank from speaking to people, researching, and knowing those who had faced tragedies.”

 

Regret, unintentional, peaceful, comparison, injustice

17th Activist Death in Beita EN reflected on the difficulty of understanding the situation without extensive time on the ground, saying, “It’s hard to grasp how you could be shot in the head within the first hour or two of arriving. Aysenur wasn’t even at the front lines; she was at the back, and yet they still killed her.”

Israel issued a brief statement on Tuesday, stating that after investigation, it found Aysenur was “likely hit indirectly and unintentionally” by its forces. The statement claimed that the bullet that struck Aysenur was not aimed directly at her but at the “key instigator of the riot,” expressing “deep regret” over her death.

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), where Aysenur was volunteering, confirmed that the protest was peaceful. Aysenur’s death has been compared to that of Rachel Corrie, a US citizen who was also volunteering with ISM when she was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza, in 2003. More than a decade later, an Israeli civil judge ruled Corrie’s death an accident and found in favor of the army in a lawsuit brought by her family.

 

Sniper, retreat, injury, live rounds, unjustified

17th Activist Death in Beita Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak, who was present at the protest and among the first to reach Aysenur after she was shot, explained that the group had retreated from their protest site at the top of Mount Sabih after Israeli soldiers fired tear gas. The activists had been standing in a built-up area of Beita for about 30 minutes, while soldiers took control of the rooftop of a house on the hill.

The house belonged to the daughter of Munir Khudair, who was on the roof that day. He told Al Jazeera, “Every Friday, the army surrounds this house and uses the roof to shoot at demonstrators. When the soldiers arrived, we went downstairs.” Munir noted that at the time the two shots were fired, there were no confrontations or friction. “I believe it was a sniper,” he said, recalling how the group shouted, “Injury! Injury!” About 90 minutes later, the soldiers left his daughter’s home.

Pollak, certain that live ammunition was used, remarked, “I’ve been doing this for 20 years—I know the difference between the sounds of rubber bullets, tear gas, and live rounds. One shot hit a metal object and then the thigh of a young man, followed by another shot.”

Pollak rushed to Aysenur, holding his hand—still bloodied—to the back of her head in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “There is no justification for this shooting,” he said firmly. “They shot to kill… 17 people have been killed in Beita demonstrations by the Israeli army since 2021.”

 

Investigation, accountability, condemnation, international pressure

17th Activist Death in Beita In response to Israel’s partial admission of responsibility for Aysenur’s death, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing as “unprovoked and unjustified,” urging “fundamental changes” in Israel’s operations in the West Bank. However, President Joe Biden later seemed to downplay Blinken’s remarks, aligning with Israel’s characterization of Aysenur’s death as an “accident.”

The day after her death, Aysenur’s family released a statement through the ISM, calling for an independent U.S. investigation into the incident, excluding the involvement of the Israeli military, to ensure accountability for those responsible. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office, told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that the UN was also advocating for an “independent international investigation” into the violations in Palestinian territories, though she did not provide further details.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to pursue “every legal step” to ensure Aysenur’s death was not in vain, including a potential appeal to the International Court of Justice, which is already investigating Israel on charges of potential genocide.