Turkey, US condemn killing of Turkish-American woman in West Bank

Ankara, Sep 7 (IANS) Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the killing of a Turkish-American woman by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, vowing to seek accountability “before international courts”.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was shot during a protest against an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Beita, and died of her wounds on Friday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Eygi’s death, saying in a post on social media that Turkey “will continue to work in every platform to halt Israel’s policy of occupation and genocide”.

Israel denies its actions in occupied Palestinian territories amount to genocide, Xinhua news agency reported.

The White House said it was deeply disturbed by the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and called on Israel to investigate.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said she was shot in the head, and placed the blame on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for her death.

The incident took place during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a town near Nablus that has frequently been targeted by Jewish settlers, according to WAFA.

“We condemn this murder committed by the Netanyahu government,” the Turkish Ministry said in a statement, pledging to hold those responsible “before international courts”.

US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew confirmed Eygi’s death and said the embassy was “urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death”.

In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its forces “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them”.

The IDF added it was investigating reports of a foreign national’s death.

There was no immediate comment on the incident from Netanyahu’s office.

In a statement, Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council, said Washington was “deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen” in the West Bank on Friday.

“We have reached out to the Government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident,” Savett added.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen said Eygi was the third American killed in the West Bank since October 7, when Hamas militants’ attack on Israel sparked war in Gaza and a resurgence of West Bank violence.

“(The) Biden Administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf,” Van Hollen, a Democrat, who sits on the Senate’s Foreign Relations committee, said.

“If the Netanyahu government will not pursue justice for Americans, the US Department of Justice must.”

Turkey has been a vocal critic of Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack.

Ankara recently halted trade with Israel and sought to participate in a genocide case against Israel at an international court.

–IANS

int/khz