IDF regrets ‘indirect and unintended’ fire that likely killed US woman in West Bank
Initial report says troops aimed at ‘main instigator,’ not Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, whose family urges independent probe; Biden: Bullet ‘ricocheted off the ground, she got hit by accident’
An American peace activist who was shot dead in the West Bank last week had “with high probability” been hit by IDF troops’ mistaken gunfire, the army said Tuesday, expressing regret for the killing.
The military says it has completed an initial probe into the killing of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who also held Turkish citizenship. The probe, carried out by commanders, has found that Eygi was likely killed by “indirect and unintended IDF fire, which was aimed at a main instigator” during a riot.
“The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at Beita Junction,” the IDF said, adding that it “expresses its deepest regret over the death.”
The Military Police has also launched an investigation into the killing and will submit the findings to the Military Advocate General for review. The IDF said Israeli officials have submitted a request to carry out an autopsy.
Eygi, a Turkish-born American citizen, was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), “a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation” with nonviolent tactics. The ISM holds regular demonstrations at Beita Junction, near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Speaking in London on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assailed the killing as “unprovoked and unjustified.” He called for the IDF to make “fundamental changes to the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement.”
He said that IDF forces have looked the other way when extremist settlers have attacked Palestinians, have used excessive force themselves, and “now have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces.”
“It’s not acceptable,” said Blinken. “It has to change. And we will be making that clear to the seniormost members of the Israeli government.”
“It is clear that there are serious issues that must be dealt with, and we will make sure that they are dealt with,” he added.
Speaking hours later to reporters in Washington, US President Joe Biden said Eygi’s killing appeared to have been an accident.
“Apparently it was an accident — it ricocheted off the ground, and she got hit by accident,” he said.
Eygi’s family has said it rejects an Israeli-led inquiry and called on the White House in a statement over the weekend “to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties.”
The killing came a day before the IDF wrapped up a 10-day counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank, which the army said killed more than 30 gunmen. The IDF renewed operations in Tullkarem on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the region has seen an uptick in settler violence. On Friday — the day Eygi was killed — a 13-year-old girl was shot dead in her room, in the Nablus-area village of Qaryut, as armed settlers stormed the area, according to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency.
Channel 12 reported that Israel’s security chiefs warned the cabinet on Sunday that “what is happening in the West Bank could blow up in all of our faces” and divert troops from the war in Gaza, sparked when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7 to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 5,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,000 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the PA health ministry, more than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 32 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Agencies contributed to this report.
