US demands answers in Israeli killing of US protester

Mourners carry the body of U.S.-Turkish protester Aysenur Eygi in the West Bank

Mourners carry the image of US-Turkish protester Aysenur Eygi

(Image credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden demanded a thorough investigation and "full accountability" from Israel for Friday's "totally unacceptable" killing of a U.S.-Turkish citizen who was "peacefully" protesting the "expansion of settlements" in the West Bank. Israel said Tuesday its preliminary investigation found that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, had "very likely" been killed by one of its soldiers.

Who said what

Israel said the gunfire that "indirectly and unintentionally" killed Eygi "during a violent riot" in Beita was aimed at the "key instigator." Beita is a "village near Nablus where Palestinians have been repeatedly attacked by far-right Jewish settlers," Reuters said. Eygi had been participating in her first West Bank protest, alongside other foreign volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement, when she was killed.

Despite Israel's assertion, The Washington Post said, interviews with 13 eyewitnesses and a review of dozens of videos from the incident showed that "Eygi was shot more than a half-hour after the height of confrontations in Beita" and "more than 200 yards away from Israeli forces," far outside of stone-throwing range.

What next?

Biden said he was "outraged and deeply saddened" by Eygi's death, and "Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again." Eygi's relatives said Biden should "speak with the family directly" and "order an independent, transparent investigation" into Israel's "deliberate targeting and killing of a U.S. citizen." Eygi's body was being sent to Turkey for burial.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.