ZIONIST SNIPER ASSASSINATION

UK, US governments need to hold Israel to account for murder of Turkish-American activist: Protesters

September 7, 2024

Middle East Monitor – Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa

A photo shared by Saif Sharabati a Palestinian Activist based in Seattle, close friend of Turkish-American rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi who was killed by Israeli soldiers in Nablus, as she was standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Seattle, Washington, United States on September 06, 2024.

 [Photo Album of Saif Sharabati – Anadolu Agency]

The killing of a Turkish-American activist in the West Bank by Israel during a peaceful protest continues to spark anger with British protesters decrying the killing and calling on the US, UK governments to hold Israel to account over the murder, Anadolu Agency reports.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist, was shot dead by Israeli forces on Friday while participating in a demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita.

An autopsy report of Eygi has confirmed she was killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullet to the head, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas said on Saturday.

Eygi, 26, a dual citizen of Turkiye and the US, had been actively involved in solidarity movements supporting Palestinian rights. Her death has sparked outrage and calls for accountability from both local and international communities.

Speaking to Anadolu, Charlie Burt, a protester, said that journalists, activists and everyone who’s showing solidarity towards Palestine “are on targets.”

“It was a peaceful protest she was attending, and it’s unacceptable that anyone would be shot for that or murdered,” he said referring to the killing of Eygi.

Burt also demanded that Israel should be held to account over the murder.

“I think, the UK and US governments need to hold Israel to account for her murder. It’s disgusting, quite frankly,” he added.

READ: Family demands independent investigation after Turkish American activist killed by Israel

Asked whether the government should do more to prevent more killings, Burt said he believes the UK government is “too soft” on Israel at the moment.

Reminding that the government has suspended 30 arms licenses recently, Burt, however, stressed that all of them need to be halted, including F-35 parts.

“We should sanction, divest and boycott Israel completely until the genocide ends and Palestine is free,” added Burt.

On Monday, the government announced that it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel after a review, warning there is a clear risk that certain UK arms exports to Israel might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The 30 licenses cover components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones and items that facilitate ground targeting, excluding UK components for the F-35 fighter jet program.

For her part, Vicki Narcin, another protester, said that killing an activist for protesting against the genocide is “just typical” of the Israeli army to do so.

“This should all be stopped now. Stop arming Israel,” she noted, mentioning that the UK shouldn’t have export licenses anymore.

Narcin added: “It is a genocide, it’s against international law and in my view, they are war criminals.”

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Besides killing more than 40,000 Palestinians since then, the military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.


US Muslim group asks Justice Department to investigate Israel killing of Turkish-American activist


September 6, 2024 

The US Flag flies above a sign marking the US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters building in Washington, DC on January 20, 2024 [J. David Ake/Getty Images]


A Muslim-American advocacy group, on Friday, asked the US Department of Justice to investigate the Israeli killing of a Turkish-American activist in the northern Occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reports.

I write to request that the Justice Department investigate and prosecute the Israeli officials, soldiers, and settlers responsible for committing violent crimes against Palestinian-Americans, including slain journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, and peace activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers today in the Occupied West Bank

Robert S. McCaw, Director of the Government Affairs Department of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a letter.

His letter came after 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.

“CAIR calls on the DOJ, working in coordination with FBI and Department of State, to immediately investigate and prosecute the horrific murder of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was allegedly shot in the head by Israeli soldiers while volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to protect Palestinian farmers,” McCaw said.

READ: ‘Do something to save lives!’ Congresswoman asks Blinken after Israel killing of Turkish-American activist

Stressing that Eygi’s life was “violently” taken just hours before the appeal, and eyewitness accounts are still emerging as her body remains at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, he added:

In light of this heinous act of violence, we demand the US government act on its own accord and not passively defer to Israeli investigations, which time and again have resulted in predictable exoneration

CAIR expects the Justice Department to act “immediately and decisively”, he said.

Fouad Nafaa, the Director of the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Anadolu that Eygi arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. She succumbed to her injuries, despite medical teams’ efforts to revive her, according to Nafaa.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened live fire on a group of Palestinians protesting illegal settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, which lies south of the city of Nablus.

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.