A 26-year-old American woman was shot dead in the occupied West Bank during a protest on Friday.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was also a Turkish citizen, was taking part in a demonstration against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the town of Beita, near Nablus.
The young woman was allegedly shot by Israeli troops, according to local media reports.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “investigating reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of gunfire in the area.”
Sean Savett, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement that The US is “deeply disturbed” by this “tragic death” and indicated that they had contacted the Israeli government to demand an investigation into what happened.
Shortly after the news broke, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lamented the “tragic loss”.
“When we have more information, we will share it, make it available and, as necessary, we will act accordingly“, he added.
Earlier, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who confirmed Ezgi Eygi’s identity, said Washington was “urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of his death and will have more to say as more is known.”
Miller also offered his “deepest condolences” to the family and loved ones.
For his part, the US ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, said that Washington “has no higher priority than the security of American citizens”.
Shot in the head
Ezgi Eygi was born in Antalya, Turkish media reported.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry described her death as “murder,” adding that Ezgi Eygi was “killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in the city of Nablus.”
The activist was rushed to a hospital in Nablus with a gunshot wound to the head. and was later reported dead, the AFP news agency reported.
Dr. Fouad Naffa, director of the hospital where Ezgi Eygi was admitted, confirmed that an American citizen in her 20s died from a “gunshot wound to the head.”
In a statement, the IDF said: “Today (Friday), during Israeli security forces activity adjacent to the Beita area, the forces responded with fire at a [hombre que actuaba como] main instigator of the violent activity who threw stones at the forces and posed a threat to them.”
They added that they were “investigating reports that a foreign national died as a result of gunfire in the area.”
“The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review,” the statement added.
According to Palestinian media reports, the 26-year-old had been involved in a campaign to protect farmers from violence by Israeli settlers.
Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli activist who was at the same protest as Eygi, said he heard “two separate shots of live ammunition, fired one after the other… and then I heard another shot.”
“I found her lying on the ground next to the tree, bleeding from the head,” Pollak told AFP news agency, showing blood on the hand he used to stop the bleeding from Eygi’s head.
Pollak said the murder “is now being brought to light because she is an American citizen.”
Eygi’s death occurred after Israeli forces to withdraw from Jenin city and refugee camp in occupied West Bankafter a major nine-day operation.
At least 36 Palestinians were killed during the operation, 21 of them from Jenin governorate, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Most of the dead have been identified as members of armed groups, but the ministry says there are also children among the victims.
Over the past 50 years, Israel has built settlements in the West Bank and east of Jerusalem, where more than 700,000 Jews now live..
Although Israel rejects it, settlements are considered illegal under international law and are supported by the United Nations Security Council and the UK government, among others.
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