American Citizen Shot, Killed as Israeli Troops Disperse West Bank Demonstration

Last updated on September 9th, 2024 at 01:51 pm

A Turkish-American woman was killed during clashes involving Israeli security forces, Israeli nationals, and Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank on Sept. 6.

The woman, Aysenur Eygi, 26, was attending a protest against the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank—an ongoing point of contention in the long running Israel–Palestine conflict.

The protest, near the West Bank town of Beita, reportedly devolved into clashes between Israeli settlers and anti-settlement activists before Israeli security forces were deployed to break up the scene.

Protest organizers International Solidarity Movement (ISM) said Israeli forces first fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, and then began using live ammunition.

ISM, in a press statement, said Israeli forces fired two rounds that struck activists. One round reportedly struck a Palestinian man in the leg, injuring him, while the other hit Eygi in the head.

“Eygi died shortly after being transported to a local hospital in Nablus,” the ISM statement continued.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in their own press statement, acknowledged Israeli troops “responded with fire” toward an individual they regarded as a “main instigator” of the clash who they said “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 IDF continued. “The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review.”

ISM has denied claims their activists were throwing rocks during the incident and said Eygi was demonstrating peacefully when she was shot and killed. The organization said an IDF investigation of the incident is inadequate, and called for the U.S. government to conduct its own independent investigation into the matter.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew offered condolences for Eygi’s death in a Friday press statement, and said the United States is gathering details about the incident.

“We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death, and will have more to say as we learn more,” Lew added. “We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued its own statement, expressing condolences for Eygi’s family, who was also a citizen of Turkey. The ministry condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for Eygi’s death.

“The Israeli authorities who commit crimes against humanity and those who unconditionally support them will be held accountable before international courts,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry added.

Many Palestinians relocated to the West Bank following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and the territory is seen as a core part of the land Palestinians hope to control as they seek statehood. However, Palestinian sovereignty over the West Bank remains an elusive goal.

The Israeli government has exerted some level of administrative control over the West Bank ever since entering the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since 1967, Israeli nationals have increasingly built settlements in the West Bank, putting into question how much land the Palestinians may hope to control if they ever achieve statehood.

The 15-member United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in 1967 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the West Bank.

The U.S. government, which has a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, has for years referred to the West Bank as an occupied territory subject to the jurisdiction of both the Israeli government and Palestinian authorities.

In 2016, the U.N. Security Council adopted another resolution, declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be in “flagrant violation” of international law. Fourteen of the 15 U.N. Security Council members supported the resolution while the United States—which has veto power on the panel—abstained from the vote.

The Israeli government has advanced proposals to expand settlements in the West Bank in recent months, despite international opposition.

“It’s been longstanding U.S. policy under both Republican and Democratic administrations that new settlements are counterproductive to the cause of peace,” White House spokesman John Kirby said in a Feb. 23 statement. “Frankly, they’re also inconsistent with international law.  And this administration maintains this firm opposition.”

In a July 19 ruling, the International Court of Justice—the primary U.N. court for adjudicating issues of international law—concluded the state of Israel must “cease all new settlement activity,” and “has an obligation to bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible.”