Funeral held in West Bank for US-Turkish activist reportedly shot by IDF

Hundreds of mourners gather in Nablus to pay respects to a US-Turkish activist killed while protesting against Israeli settlements in a nearby town.

The body of the slain 26-year-old, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, with her head covered by a keffiyeh, a traditional scarf symbolizing the Palestinian struggle against Israel.

Palestinian security forces carry her body through the streets of Nablus, accompanied by the sound of Palestinian bagpipes, before a wreath is placed over her remains.

The memorial, which began at Nablus’s Rafidia hospital, draws large crowds.

The UN rights office said Israeli forces killed Eygi with a “shot in the head.” The mayor of Beita and the Palestinian news agency Wafa also reported that she was killed by Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli army acknowledged it had opened fire in the Beita area and said it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired.”

The United Nations said Eygi had been taking part in a “peaceful anti-settlement protest” in Beita, scene of weekly demonstrations.

Turkey condemned her death, while the United States called it “tragic” and pressed its ally Israel to investigate.

The commemoration was postponed from yesterday, due to a dispute between the United States and Turkey over “details such as the burial location and the route her body would take,” says Mahmud al-Aloul, a senior Fatah official.

Aloul says that “Palestine would be honored for the martyr to be buried here.”