US national killed in West Bank protest against Israeli settlements
Sep 06, 2024
West Bank [Palestine], September 6 : A US national on Friday was fatally shot during a protest against Israeli settlements in the Palestinian town of Beita in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses confirmed the incident, the New York Times reported.
The US State Department has identified the woman as Aysenur Eygi.
As per the three activists who were at the protest site on Friday, the woman had been shot by Israeli soldiers, according to the New York Times.
The United States offered condolences following the incident. Sharing a post on X, Jack Lew, the US ambassador to Israel, wrote, "We are aware of the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Eygi, today in the West Bank. We offer our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones."
The US official said that an investigation is underway to gather all relevant information surrounding the circumstances of the American woman's death in the West Bank. "We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death, and will have more to say as we learn more. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens," the post by Lew said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports of "foreign national" being killed.
Sharing a post on X, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said, "Today, during Israeli security forces activity adjacent to the area of Beita, the forces responded with fire towards a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them. The IDF is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area."
"The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review," the post on X added.
Eygi had recently arrived in Israel to join protests showing solidarity with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Eygi was born in Antalya, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, in 1998, according to the New York Times.
