The United States will press Israel for accountability over the killing of a Turkish American activist by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank, according to U.S. envoy to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who said Washington would also demand access to Israel’s investigation into the incident.
Expressing her and U.S. President Joe Biden's "outrage" over the killing of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Thomas-Greenfield said at a U.N. Security Council session Monday that "no one should have to put their life at risk simply for attending a protest."
"This horrific tragedy should never have happened," she said, adding the U.S. will demand more details and "continue to demand access to Israel's investigation and press for accountability regarding the circumstances that led to Ayşenur's death."
She extended her condolences to Eygi's family and friends.
"Her death, like that of so many others over the past year, was tragic and unnecessary," she said.
"We must not grow numb to human suffering no matter who and where it occurs," she added.
Before her death, Eygi had traveled to the West Bank to support Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation, according to the International Solidarity Movement.
On Sept. 3, Eygi went to observe a protest in the town of Beita in Nablus to stand against the illegal Israeli settlements there.
The movement reported that on Sept. 6, Eygi was intentionally targeted and killed by an Israeli sniper standing on a nearby rooftop.
Eyewitnesses reported that when she was shot in the head by the sniper, Eygi was far from the protest area. She was taken to a Palestinian hospital, but despite doctors' best efforts, she could not be saved.
Turkish diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem coordinated the transfer of her body from Tel Aviv to Baku, Azerbaijan, before her final journey to Türkiye.
Turkish authorities received Eygi's body on Friday and transported it to the Izmir Forensic Medicine Institution for an autopsy, which found that a bullet entered through her lower ear area.
Thousands of people joined the funeral ceremony for Eygi on Saturday, including politicians from the ruling and opposition parties, in a rare show of solidarity for the Palestinian cause Eygi died for. A portrait of her wearing her graduation gown was propped against the coffin as people paid their respects.
Also on Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the young activist's father and pledged that they would file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on her killing by Israel.
"The Palestinian leadership was engaged with the U.S. and Turkish authorities to ensure conducting a fair investigation into her killing and that work was underway to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the crime of her assassination,” he said. Abbas announced his decision "to bestow upon her the Medal of the Star of Jerusalem in recognition of her dearly sacrifice for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and independence and invited her parents and family to visit Palestine.”
