Contradicting eyewitness accounts, Israeli army claims Turkish American activist killed ‘unintentionally’

The Israeli army said Tuesday it is "highly likely" that Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was "indirectly and unintentionally" hit by fire from its forces in the occupied West Bank.

Eygi, 26, a dual Turkish-US citizen, was shot dead by Israeli forces during a Friday protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita.

A military statement said an initial investigation found that it was "highly likely" that Eygi was "indirectly and unintentionally" hit by bullets from its forces, claiming that the fire "was aimed at a key instigator of a violent riot, not at the activist."

It said the investigation was launched by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) and its findings will be submitted for review by the Military Advocate General's Corps.

The army said it requested an autopsy on the activist's body and expressed "its deepest regret" over Eygi's death.

Hundreds of Palestinians paid farewell to the activist in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday.

- Eyewitness accounts

The Israeli claim runs counter to accounts given by eyewitnesses about Eygi's death.

Mounir Khdair, a Palestinian witness, said an Israeli sniper who killed the Turkish American activist cried out for joy after shooting her.

"After shooting her, the sniper was happy, he shouted for joy," Khdair told Anadolu.

Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli activist who took part in anti-settlement protests for many years, said soldiers quickly dispersed protesters after the Friday prayers in Beita with tear gas and live bullets.

"The soldier who killed the activist took a kill shot. That kill shot was not an isolated incident. It happened in the context of the ongoing escalation and violence in the West Bank," he said.

"The bullet that killed Aysenur was the same bullet that killed people in Nur Shams and Jenin" in the West Bank, he added.

"It's the same bullet that killed a 13-year-old girl the same day just a few kilometers south of here. These are the same American-funded bullets that Israel uses to perpetrate genocide in Gaza with complete impunity.

"This happens because the world doesn't demand accountability and the world, shamefully, supports Israel. It is time that this murder brings some accountability and an end to Israeli colonialism over the Palestinian people."

Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas on Friday held the Israeli government fully responsible for Eygi's death.

"Israel is killing American activists in Palestine with weapons provided by the United States," he told Anadolu. "The Israeli occupation government is fully responsible for this crime and all other incidents on Palestinian soil."

Eygi's killing echoes the case of American Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in a similar way in 2022, drawing widespread outrage.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 95,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

At least 694 Palestinians have also been killed and over 5,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Palestinian figures.