A dual U.S.-Turkish citizen participating in a protest against Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank died Friday after being shot in the head by Israeli troops, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The U.S. State Department and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. Turkey’s ministry described the incident as a “murder carried out by the Netanyahu government.”
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “We are aware of the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Eygi, today in the West Bank. We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death.”
The Israeli military stated it was investigating the report.
Fouad Nafaa, head of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Reuters that Eygi arrived at the hospital in critical condition with a serious head injury. Despite resuscitation attempts, she did not survive.
WAFA reported that the incident occurred during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a town near Nablus that has experienced repeated attacks by nationalist Jewish settlers.
The shooting comes amid rising tensions in the West Bank, with increasing violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages drawing criticism from Western allies, including the United States, which has imposed sanctions on several individuals.
The Israeli government recently promised swift action against anyone found guilty of violence following a settler attack on the village of Jit. Palestinians and human rights groups frequently accuse Israeli forces of failing to prevent or even participating in such attacks.
