Initial probe into US citizen’s killing does not exonerate Israeli forces, US says
State Department spokesman warns Washington could consider other measures if results of full Israeli probe into killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in West Bank are unsatisfactory
WASHINGTON — Israel’s initial findings on the killing of US citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi do not exonerate Israeli security forces, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday, warning that Washington would consider other measures if it is not satisfied with the results of a full Israeli probe.
Israel acknowledged that its troops shot 26-year-old Eygi, who is also a Turkish citizen, on September 6 while she took part in a protest near Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, but said it was an unintentional act during a demonstration that turned violent.
Eygi was a human rights activist and volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement, which calls for resisting Israeli rule over Palestinians using nonviolent methods.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week described her killing as “unprovoked and unjustified” and demanded an overhaul of Israeli military conduct in the West Bank. Speaking at a regular press briefing on Monday, Miller said her killing should never have happened.
“I hear people… hold the initial findings up as if they somehow exonerated Israeli security forces. They very much do not, at least in our point of view,” he said.
The United States will be waiting for the results of the full investigation, which it expects to be prompt, thorough and transparent, Miller said. If those results aren’t satisfactory, Washington could take its own action, he added, without saying what that would be.
“If the first investigation plays out… and we are not satisfied, we will of course look at whether any other measures are appropriate,” Miller added.
The Israeli military has said it was likely Eygi was hit “unintentionally” by forces while they were responding to a “violent riot” and said it was looking into the case.
On Tuesday last week, the Israel Defense Forces said the activist had in all probability been mistakenly hit by troops aiming at another individual. “The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at Beita Junction,” the military said, adding that it “expresses its deepest regret over the death.”
However, a Washington Post report the following day challenged the IDF’s version of events, saying that Eygi was shot over half an hour after the peak of the protests and some 20 minutes after the demonstrators had moved down the road, meaning she was approximately 180 meters (200 yards) away from the troops when she was killed and could not have posed a threat.
Miller declined to say if Israeli security forces had assured American officials that they would make changes in their rules of engagement.
