The coffin carrying the body of Turkish-American activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, flown to Istanbul last month, was draped in a Turkish flag. Soldiers carried it off a Turkish Airlines plane. It had arrived that morning from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, since direct flights between Israel and Turkey were suspended months ago due to tensions between the two countries.
Eygi was shot dead during a protest near Nablus in the West Bank against an Israeli settler outpost. It was her first time participating as one of many foreign volunteers in actions organized by the International Solidarity Movement. The 26-year-old had recently graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in psychology and Middle Eastern languages. She had already been involved in pro-Palestinian protests at her university. The Israeli army stated that a military police investigation found Eygi had been “indirectly and unintentionally” hit by a bullet aimed at the leader of a “riot” during the protests.
According to the army, the shooting occurred during violent clashes when dozens of “Palestinian suspects” burned tires and threw stones at Israeli security forces. They expressed a desire to examine the body, but it was not released by the Palestinian side. However, the Washington Post provided a contrasting account from its own investigation. The newspaper claimed to have analyzed over 50 videos recorded around the incident and interviewed 13 eyewitnesses. Their findings indicated that Eygi was over 200 meters away from the area of the clashes at the time of the fatal shot. Furthermore, the peak of the confrontation had reportedly occurred half an hour earlier. The Washington Post’s reconstruction revealed numerous details typical of confrontations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Israeli outpost of Evyatar, which was the focus of the protests, had been illegally established on a hill in 2021 in the so-called C-area, where Israel has full control. The settler movement has long targeted these areas to gradually displace Palestinian residents. In June, the Israeli government retroactively legalized the outpost, despite its establishment, like other Israeli settlements, violating international law. Palestinian residents regularly gathered for prayers on a nearby playground every Friday to protest the settlement construction. As often happened, numerous Israeli and international activists were present to protect Palestinians from violent settlers or security forces and to document any legal violations. After the prayers, a group of younger Palestinians reportedly moved from the playground toward the outpost. The exact trigger of the escalation remains unclear, but activists stated that security forces soon used tear gas and live ammunition. The protesters lit tires and threw stones. According to the reconstruction, Eygi and other activists quickly retreated to an olive grove about 200 meters away once the situation escalated. Things had reportedly calmed down before the fatal shot. According to the Washington Post, activists had seen Israeli snipers on a rooftop aiming at them before the shooting occurred. What exactly transpired on that Friday may never be fully clarified, as is often the case with similar incidents.
Nevertheless, Eygi’s death has once again strained Turkish-Israeli relations. Criticism of the Israeli soldiers’ actions has also come from the United States, where Eygi’s family moved shortly after her birth. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the incident “absolutely unacceptable” and demanded “fundamental changes” in the Israeli military’s operations in the West Bank. The White House stated that President Joe Biden was “outraged and deeply saddened” by Eygi’s death. Eygi’s family had previously criticized Biden for not personally reaching out to them. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his typically harsh rhetoric, accused the Israeli military of “treacherously murdering” Eygi. According to Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç, the Turkish prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation to identify those responsible for the “killing” of the young activist. Tunç announced that Turkey would issue international arrest warrants through Interpol’s red notices. He claimed there were photos of the perpetrators. “We have evidence in our hands,” Tunç said. “We will demand their arrest.” Eygi’s death has sparked widespread sympathy in Turkey, where politicians across the spectrum hold Israel responsible for her death.
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