US activist was killed in West Bank half an hour after peak of protests – Washington Post

A report by the Washington Post challenges the IDF’s version of events surrounding the fatal shooting of an American activist by Israeli troops in the West Bank last week, saying the protesters had retreated down the road and did not pose a threat to soldiers at the time of the killing.

Dual Turkish-American national Aysenur Eygi, 26, was shot dead Friday while taking part in a protest against Israeli settlement activity in the northern West Bank.

On Tuesday, 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 IDF said, adding that it “expresses its deepest regret over the death.”

However the Washington Post report, based on eyewitness accounts and video, says 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.

Witnesses tell the newspaper that a Palestinian teen who was standing about 18 meters (20 yards) from Eygi, was wounded by IDF fire, but the military would not say if he was the target.

Residents and activists say that while the army initially began by using tear gas to disperse the crowd, they quickly switched to live ammunition.

Eygi was “shocked by the swift escalation,” the newspaper says, and moved further down the road.

Activists and residents tell the newspaper that the moment in which Eygi was killed was not caught on film because there was not much happening at the time.

The newspaper says the IDF declined to comment when asked why troops had fired at the protesters when they were so far away.