ASSASSINATED BY SNIPER
Hundreds gather in Seattle for Turkish American activist killed by IsraelProtesters chant, hold signs that read: 'Justice 4 Aysenur', 'Aysenur Eygi Martyred For Palestine Rest in Power'.
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Eygi's death has sparked outrage and demands for accountability from local and international communities. / Photo: A
Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in Seattle for a Turkish American activist who was killed in an Israeli attack during an anti-occupation protest in the occupied West Bank.
Saturday's demonstration at Westlake Park came one day after Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was killed by Israeli forces while participating in a protest against illegal settlement expansion in the town of Beita, near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Protesters chanting against Israel, held signs that included, "Aysenur Eygi Martyred For Palestine Rest in Power", "Justice 4 Aysenur", "Today We Are All Aysenur", "Resistance Is Not Terrorism! Free Palestine!"
Nablus Gov. Ghassan Daghlas said Saturday that an autopsy confirmed Eygi she was killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullet to the head.
Supporting Palestinian rights
Eygi had been actively involved in solidarity movements supporting Palestinian rights.
Her death has sparked outrage and demands for accountability from local and international communities.
Born in Antalya, Türkiye in 1998, Eygi moved to Seattle, Washington, with her parents, Rabia Birden Eygi and Mehmet Suat Eygi, when she was less than 1 year old.
She graduated in June from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.
Media enquiries: ismtraining [at] riseup.net
During the weekly demonstration in Beita, Palestine, on the morning of September 6th, 2024, the Israeli army intentionally shot and killed an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) human rights activist named Ayşenur Eygi.
The demonstration, which primarily involved men and children praying, was met with force from the Israeli army stationed on a hill. Initially, the army fired a large amount of tear gas and then began using live ammunition. Ayşenur, who we consider a martyr in the struggle, was the 18th demonstrator to be killed in Beita since 2020. She was an American citizen of Turkish descent.
The Israeli forces fired two rounds. 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.
Fellow ISM volunteer Mariam Dag (a pseudonymn) was on the scene, and witnessed the fatal injury of her comrade. She said:
“We were peacefully demonstrating alongside Palestinians against the colonisation of their land, and the illegal settlement of Evyatar. The situation escalated when the Israeli army began to fire tear gas and live ammunition, forcing us to retreat. We were standing on the road, about 200 meters from the soldiers, with a sniper clearly visible on the roof. Our fellow volunteer was standing a bit further back, near an olive tree with some other activists. Despite this, the army intentionally shot her in the head.
This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the US and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza. Palestinians have suffered far too long under the weight of colonization. We will continue to stand in solidarity and honor the martyrs until Palestine is free.”
A friend of the slain human rights activist and fellow volunteer with the ISM who does not wish their name released said:
“I don’t know how to say this. There’s no easy way. I wish I could [say] something eloquent, but I can’t through my sobbing tears…. my friend, comrade and travel partner to Palestine, was just shot in the head and murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces. May she rest in power. She is now one of many martyrs in this struggle.”
Beita is a village in the West Bank where just weeks ago Amado Sison, another American volunteer, was struck by live ammunition in the back of the leg. Beita has a long history of resistance against Israeli occupation and has been a focal point of violence directed towards Palestinian residents by Israeli forces. Located near several illegal Israeli settlements, the village holds regular demonstrations. Due to escalating aggression by the Israeli forces, residents are currently refraining from marching or chanting, instead gathering together on the land and praying.
In recent years, Beita has seen ongoing demonstrations, particularly against the construction of new illegal Israeli outposts on the lands of the village. For example Evyatar outpost, on Sabih Mountain, has been established on Palestinian land. In June, the Israeli security cabinet approved the ‘legalization’ of Evyatar, causing the people of Beita to strengthen their popular resistance.
Residents of Beita recently restarted weekly Friday demonstrations to resist the further theft of their land. While protests had nearly ceased since October 7th 2023, due to escalating violence from Israeli occupation forces, there was a renewed push on July 5th 2024, when dozens of Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, marched from the adjacent mountain, through the valley, and towards the outpost.
In recent months, international activists have experienced a sharp increase in violence from Israeli forces and the occupation must be held accountable for this. The woman martyred today was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization that provides protective presence and solidarity in the West Bank. The ISM was founded in 2002, and has maintained a steady presence in Palestine ever since, supporting the Palestinian popular struggle against the occupation.
Our comrade is added to the 17 Palestinian protesters already slain in Beita:
**Palestinian demonstrators martyred in Beita**
– Mohammed Hamayyel, 15 (March 11, 2020)
– Islam Dwikat, 22 (April 9, 2020)
– Karam Amin Dwikat, 17 (October 15, 2023)
– Issa Sliman Barham, 40 (May 14, 2021)
– Tareq Ommar Snobar, 27 (May 16, 2021)
– Zakaria Maher Hamayyel, 25 (May 28, 2021)
– Mohammed Said Hamayyel, 15 (June 11, 2021)
– Ahmad Zahi Bani Shamsa, 15 (June 16, 2021)
– Shadi Ommar Sharafa, 41 (July 27, 2021)
– Imad Ali Dwikat, 38 (August 6, 2021)
– Mohammed Ali Khbeissa, 27 (September 24, 2021)
– Jamil Jamal Abu Ayyash, 32 (December 1, 2021)
– Fawaz Ahmad Hamayyel, 47 (April 13, 2022)
– Immad Jareh Bani Shamsa, 16 (October 9, 2023)
– Mohammed Ibrahim Adili, 13 (November 23, 2023)
– Maath Ashraf Bani Shamsa, 17 (February 9, 2024)
– Ameed Ghaleb Said al-Jaroub, 34 (March 22, 2024, died of a bullet wound injury to the head sustained on August 21, 2023)
At this time, the family will not be granting any interviews. Please contact ISM for media requests at ismtraining [at] riseup.net
Notes for journalists:
- Some media reports have repeated false claims that ISM activists threw rocks during the peaceful demonstration in Beita. All eye witness accounts refute this claim. Aysenur was more than 200 meters away from where the Israeli soldiers were, and there were no confrontations there at all in the minutes before she was shot. Regardless, from such distance, neither she, nor anyone else could have possibly been perceived as posing any threat. She was killed in cold blood.
- Statement from the family of Ayşenur Eygi
- Statement issued by Beita municipality regarding the martyrdom of the foreign solidarity activist on Mount Sabih
Turkish-American activist shot dead by Israeli sniper — autopsy
Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian organisation, and was in Beita for a weekly demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have frequently held weekly protests against the Eviatar settlement. / Photo: AP
An autopsy report of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist, has confirmed she was killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullet to the head, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas said on Saturday.
In a statement to Anadolu, Daghlas said the autopsy results indicated Eygi’s cause of death was a gunshot wound inflicted by a sniper, specifically targeting her head. Eygi had been rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead upon arrival.
He said the examination was conducted late Friday night at the Forensic Medicine Institute, An-Najah National University in Nablus.
Palestinian officials had earlier suggested Eygi’s death was likely the result of deliberate targeting by an Israeli sniper.
According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, information about Eygi’s death was shared with the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem on Friday.
Earlier, the family of a Turkish-American woman shot dead while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank demanded an independent investigation into her death, accusing the Israeli military of killing her "violently".
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was "shot in the head" while participating in a demonstration in Beita in the occupied West Bank on Friday.
‘A martyr in the struggle’
Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces while protesting illegal settler expansion in the occupied West Bank. She is the 18th protester killed in the Palestinian village of Beita since 2020 pic.twitter.com/UPS8Kqz5XV— TRT World (@trtworld) September 6, 2024
"Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," Eygi's family said in a statement.
"A US citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter.
"We call on President (Joe) Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris, and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."
The Israeli military said its forces "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks 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 organisation, and was in Beita on Friday for a weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements, according to ISM.
In recent years, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have frequently held weekly protests against the Eviatar settlement outpost overlooking Beita, which is backed by far-right Israeli ministers.
'Tragic', 'barbaric'
During Friday's protest, Eygi was shot in the head, according to the UN rights office and Rafidia hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Türkiye said she was killed by "Israeli occupation soldiers", with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the Israeli action as "barbaric".
Washington called it a "tragic" event and has pressed its close ally Israel to investigate.
But her family has demanded an independent probe.
"Given the circumstances of Aysenur’s killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," her family said.
Her family said Eygi always advocated "an end to the violence against the people of Palestine".
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank where about 490,000 people live are illegal under international law.
Eyewitness describes fatal shooting of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli forces
Italian witness said Israeli soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas at Palestinians after Friday prayers near the Evyatar settlement, while she and Aysenur, standing 200 meters away, were shot at without provocation.
The fatal attack on Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli forces occurred while she was unarmed in an olive grove. / Photo: Reuters
An Italian activist who witnessed the final moments of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist who was killed last week by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements, described the attack.
“About 200 meters away, there were Israeli soldiers on the roof of a Palestinian house. We were standing on the side of the road in an olive grove and Aysenur was a little behind me under an olive tree,” said Mariam, who only gave her first name, speaking to Anadolu at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus.
Saying that Israeli soldiers stopped near Evyatar, an illegal Israeli settlement seized from Palestinians, about 200 meters (656 feet) away, she said: “Palestinians prayed the Friday prayer. After the prayer, incidents broke out between the Palestinians and the army.
"The Israeli army dispersed the crowd using tear gas and then live bullets. We retreated down the hill to the side of the road, and about 200 meters away, there were Israeli soldiers on the roof of a Palestinian house.
We were standing by the side of the road in an olive grove. Aysenur was a little behind me under an olive tree.”
“We were clearly visible to the soldiers. We were just standing there, not doing anything. Suddenly I heard two shots. One of them hit a metal object. Then my friends called out my name. Aysenur was lying unconscious under a tree. We called for more people. We put her in an ambulance. We came with her to Beita Health Center, and from there, we brought her to the hospital in Nablus. They tried to save her, but she died.”
‘A martyr in the struggle’Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces while protesting illegal settler expansion in the occupied West Bank. She is the 18th protester killed in the Palestinian village of Beita since 2020 pic.twitter.com/UPS8Kqz5XV— TRT World (@trtworld) September 6, 2024
International activists targeted more by settlers since Oct. 7
Mariam said she met Aysenur a few days before the attack and pointed out that the Turkish-American activist was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), of which Rachel Corrie, an American activist killed in Rafah in 2003, was a member.
Mariam said Aysenur was very excited to participate in the demonstration to support the struggle of the Palestinian people and that she shared her excitement, but she was very uneasy due to the excessive force used by the Israeli army.
She said that Palestinians have been suffering for decades, but after Oct. 7, this increased exponentially.
“The settlers' violence and the army's harassment have increased like an avalanche after Oct. 7. International solidarity activists have also been attacked more by settlers, and activists have been shot at and injured. Palestinians are the primary victims of the increased tensions, but attacks on international solidarity activists have also increased.”
Mariam said that far-right fanatical Israeli settler groups monitor and control the social media accounts of international solidarity activists.
“Our governments have the blood of all Palestinian martyrs on their hands — my friend Aysenur and the activists before her. We demand accountability not only for Aysenur but for all Palestinian martyrs. Stop arms sales to Israel. We demand a just solution for a free Palestine,” she added.
Eygi's body is being held at Rafidia Hospital. International solidarity activists, Palestinian official representatives, and the public gathered at the hospital for the official funeral, while technical preparations were still ongoing
A life of caring: Loved ones remember activist killed by Israel
She was "strong, beautiful, and nourishing" like the "olive tree she lay beneath where she took her last breaths," Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi's family says.
Eygi had recently graduated from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures. / Photo: AP
Turkish-American peace activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was peacefully standing in an olive grove in the occupied West Bank, a land where generations of Palestinians have sown their blood and tears into the earth, when she was shot by an Israeli sniper.
She was in Beita, Nablus, to protest illegal Israeli settlements in the town.
Jonathan Pollack, another activist who was with her on Saturday, recalled hearing two separate shots of live ammunition. The first shot hit a metal object before striking a young man from the village on the thigh. After the second shot, cries for help rang out.
"I ran backwards into the olive groves and found her lying on the ground beneath an olive tree, bleeding to death," he recounted.
Eygi's autopsy confirmed that she was killed by a sniper's bullet specifically targeting her head, according to Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas.
Her family, in a statement, said her life was "needlessly, unlawfully, and violently taken by the Israeli military," expressing their "shock and grief."
She had recently graduated from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.
Solidarity with Palestinian civilians
Her loved ones described Eygi as someone who felt a "deep responsibility to serve others and lived a life of caring for those in need through action. She was a fiercely passionate human rights activist her whole life."
Eygi was active on campus, participating in student-led protests advocating for human dignity and an end to the violence against the people of Palestine.
"Aysenur felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with Palestinian civilians who continue to endure ongoing repression and violence," her family said.
Despite the known dangers of travelling to the occupied territory, Eygi was determined to show her support for the Palestinian cause. She arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) as part of an effort to support and safeguard Palestinian farmers.
Eygi was born in Antalya, Türkiye, in 1998. She was killed at just 26 years old.
She was "strong, beautiful, and nourishing" like the "olive tree she lay beneath where she took her last breaths," her family said.
Calling for accountability
The US State Department confirmed the killing of the volunteer peace activist with the Palestinian-led anti-occupation group ISM and said it was gathering more information about the circumstances of her death.
Eygi's family urged the Biden administration for an independent investigation into her killing.
"We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," the family said in a statement, calling for "full accountability for the guilty parties."
The Israeli military acknowledged the firing, but claimed its forces were responding to "violent activity." Eyewitnesses tell a different story.
Witnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened live fire on a group participating in a demonstration, condemning the illegal settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank.
They said Eygi was standing away from the main protest area when she was fatally shot. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead upon arrival.
ISM said Eygi was "deliberately targeted" by the Israeli sniper, citing testimony from eyewitness Mariam Dag (a pseudonym), who is also a volunteer with the group.
Jonathan Pollack, another eyewitness to the murder and an Israeli activist who has participated in protests against the illegal settlements, said the soldier who shot Eygi "had a clear line of sight to her."
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Eygi's killing is "a direct outcome of the implementation of the instructions" of Israeli politicians to kill Palestinians and solidarity activists.
The ministry held the Israeli government fully responsible for the crime which confirmed its predetermined plans to escalate the situation to cover its colonial projects across the occupied territories.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry described Eygi’s death as a "murder" committed by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
US lawmakers seek accountability over US-Turkish citizen's murder by Israel
American lawmakers and alma mater seek answers after Israeli troops shot Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the head and killed her at a demonstration against expansion of illegal Zionist settlement in occupied West Bank.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead by Israeli troops during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district of the occupied West Bank. / Photo: AA
Condemnations and calls for investigation are growing after Israeli occupation troops shot an American-Turkish woman in the head and killed her during an anti-settlement protest in the West Bank.
The US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed the killing of the 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi on Friday, while the White House said it was "deeply disturbed" by the killing.
Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington state condemned the killing.
"The government of Israel must deliver answers immediately and hold the perpetrators of this killing accountable," Murray said in a statement.
Democratic US Representative Pramila Jayapal called Eygi's death a terrible tragedy, and said her office was actively working to gather more information on the events that led to her death.
"I am very troubled by the reports that she was killed by IDF (Israeli Army) soldiers. The Netanyahu government has done nothing to stop settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, often encouraged by right-wing ministers of the Netanyahu government," Jayapal wrote in the prepared statement.
"The killing of an American citizen is a terrible proof point in this senseless war of rising tensions in the region."
US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to "do something" after the Turkish-American activist's murder by the Israeli army."
@SecBlinken: Do something to save lives!" Tlaib wrote on X.
In a separate post addressed to the US State Department spokesperson Miller, Tlaib said: "Hey how’d they die, Matt? Was it magic? Who or what killed Aysenur? Asking on behalf of Americans who want to know.
‘A martyr in the struggle’
Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces while protesting illegal settler expansion in the occupied West Bank. She is the 18th protester killed in the Palestinian village of Beita since 2020 pic.twitter.com/UPS8Kqz5XV— TRT World (@trtworld) September 6, 2024
Third American killed in West Bank since October
President of Eygi's alma mater sent condolences to her family and called for ceasefire in Israel's genocidal war on besieged Gaza.
Eygi graduated earlier this year from the University of Washington with a psychology degree. She also studied middle eastern languages and cultures while at the university in her hometown of Seattle.
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce released a statement on Friday calling Eygi's killing "awful news" and sent condolences to her family and friends.
"Aysenur was a peer mentor in psychology who helped welcome new students to the department and provided a positive influence in their lives," Cauce wrote.
"This is the second time over the past year that violence in the region has taken the life of a member of our UW community and I again join with our government and so many who are working and calling for a ceasefire and resolution to the crisis."
US Senator Chris Van Hollen said Eygi was the third American killed in the occupied West Bank since October last year.
"Biden Administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf," Van Hollen, a Democrat, who sits on the Senate's Foreign Relations committee, said.
"If the Netanyahu Government will not pursue justice for Americans, the US Department of Justice must."
Victim volunteered with Fazaa campaign
Fouad Nafaa, the director of the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Anadolu Agency that Eygi arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. She succumbed to her wounds despite attempts by medical teams to revive her, according to Nafaa.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened live fire on a group of Palestinians participating in a demonstration condemning the illegal Zionist settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, which lies south of the city of Nablus.
Vivi Chen, who volunteers for Fazaa – another pro-Palestine group which works in partnership with International Solidarity Movement (ISM), said Eygi was crouched near a dumpster at the bottom of a hill when shots were fired.
Chen confirmed Eygi was there with ISM.
"We were all at the bottom of the hill and the Israeli army was at the top," Chen said.
"There were two volunteers sitting behind a dumpster and they fired one shot at the dumpster. It hit a metal plane. And then there was another shot and they shot – they shot her in the head."
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA confirmed that the victim was a volunteer with the Fazaa campaign, an initiative aimed at supporting and protecting Palestinian farmers from ongoing violations by illegal Israeli settlers and the military.
Residents of Beita hold weekly protests after Friday prayers to oppose the illegal Israeli settlement of Avitar, which sits on the peak of Mount Sbeih. The community demands the removal of the settlement, which they view as a violation of their land rights.
Eygi was born in the Turkish city of Antalya in 1998.
UN demands full probe into Israel's killing of Turkish-American activist
"Civilians must be, must be protected at all times," says UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Others
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district of the occupied West Bank.
The UN has called for a "full investigation" and accountability for the killing of a 26-year-old Turkish-American peace activist by the Israeli army in the northern occupied West Bank.
"We would want to see a full investigation of the circumstances and that people should be held accountable," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference on Friday, following news that the activist succumbed to her wounds after being shot and critically injured in the head by Israeli forces.
"Civilians must be, must be protected at all times," he added.
Asked about whether there has been any accountability for any UN personnel killed by Israel, Dujarric said: "We have not seen anything."
Expressing that investigations and the issue of accountability would happen "once the fighting stops," Dujarric said there had been "some movement" towards accountability on the issue of mistreatment of Palestinian detainees.
'Deliberately targeted'
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces on Friday during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district of the occupied West Bank.
Eygi, who was born in the Turkish city of Antalya in 1998, succumbed to her injuries despite attempts by medical teams to revive her, according to Fouad Nafaa, director of the Rafidia Hospital.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened live fire on a group of Palestinians participating in a demonstration condemning the illegal settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus.
Jonathan Pollack, an eyewitness to the murder and an Israeli activist who has participated in protests against illegal Israeli settlements, said the soldier who shot Eygi "had a clear line of sight to her."
"It's important for me to say that this isn't an isolated incident," Pollack said, adding that since 2021, a total of 17 people have been killed in demonstrations in Beita, all of whom were Palestinians.
"It is part of the Israeli escalation in the West Bank in recent months and it is part of the genocide that Israel is perpetrating in Gaza."
The Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement (ISM) also said Eygi was "deliberately targeted" by the Israeli sniper, citing testimony from eyewitness Mariam Dag (a pseudonym), who is also an ISM volunteer.
In a statement on Friday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Eygi's killing is "a direct outcome of the implementation of the instructions" of Israeli politicians to kill Palestinians and solidarity activists.
The ministry held the Israeli government fully responsible for the crime which confirmed its predetermined plans to escalate the situation to cover its colonial projects across the occupied territories.
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