US urges Israel to conclude probe into killing of American activist in West Bank

FILE PHOTO: Turkish-American woman Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a graduate of the University of Washington, poses wearing her mortarboard and keffiyeh in a family photograph taken at the University of Washington's 2024 commencement ceremony, in Seattle, Washington, U.S, June 8, 2024. International Solidarity Movement/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Source: Handout

By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk

The United States called on Israel on Monday to complete a full inquiry into the killing of an American Turkish woman last week in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying it believes Israel has begun such a probe.

Turkish and Palestinian officials said on Friday that Israeli troops shot 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who had been taking part in a protest against settlement expansion.

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"Our understanding is that our partners in Israel are looking into the circumstances of what happened, and we expect them to make their findings public, and expect that whatever those findings are, expect them to be thorough and transparent," U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a news briefing.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby later said Israel was understood to be "moving swiftly on this investigation" and was expected to present its findings and conclusions in the coming days.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said the incident took place during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a village near Nablus that has seen repeated attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers.

Israel's military said it was looking into reports that a female foreign national "was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review."

Patel and Kirby did not provide further information on the circumstances of the killing and said Washington would withhold judgment until Israel presents its findings.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Eygi's death, saying in a post on social media that Turkey "will continue to work in every platform to halt Israel's policy of occupation and genocide". Israel denies its actions in occupied Palestinian territories amount to genocide.

A rise in violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank has stirred anger among Western allies of Israel, including the United States, which has imposed sanctions on some Israelis involved in the settler movement.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state.

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