Turkey buries US activist killed by Israel in occupied West Bank

Didim (Quds News Network)- Hundreds of mourners in Turkey gathered on Saturday for the funeral of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank last week.
Family members, friends and supporters congregated in Eygi’s home town of Didim in western Turkey to bury her.
Her body, wrapped in the Turkish flag, arrived at its final resting place.
The funeral of American-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by an Israeli sniper during a settlement demonstration in the occupied West Bank last week, took place in Didim, Turkey, where she was born. pic.twitter.com/4MJucNdgXT
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 14, 2024
The killing of the 26-year-old activist sparked international condemnation against Israel. She was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier while taking part in a protest against illegal Israeli settlements on September 6.
“Aysenur’s blood will not be in vain and we will hold accountable those who killed her in international courts,” said Numan Kurtulmus, Turkey’s Parliament Speaker, in Didim on Saturday.
He said the responsibility for the killing “lies with Israel and its supporters”.
Turkey said it was investigating her death and pressed the UN for an independent inquiry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to ensure “that Aysenur Ezgi’s death does not go unpunished”.
The Israeli military, however, claimed it was likely Eygi was hit “unintentionally” by forces while they were responding to a “violent riot” in Beita, near Nablus.
But growing evidence contradicts that, as witnesses said Israeli soldiers deliberately killed her.
Among the witnesses to her killing was an Italian activist who rode with Eygi in the ambulance as she was moved to Beita and then to Nablus, where she was pronounced dead.
“We were clearly visible to the army, there was nothing happening next to us … it was a shoot to kill,” the Italian activist said.
Eygi’s family asked the US to launch an independent inquiry into her killing, saying an Israeli probe was not “adequate”.
The UN said Eygi had been taking part in a “peaceful anti-settlement protest” in Beita, the scene of weekly demonstrations, when she was killed.
Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a group that has been protesting against Israel’s occupation, and arrived in the West Bank a few days before she was killed.