Funeral held for an American activist shot dead by Israeli troops

MIDDLE EAST

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Two fellow activists of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who was fatally shot by Israeli soldiers while participating in an anti-settlement protest in the West Bank, carry posters with her name and photo Monday during Eygi’s funeral procession in the West Bank city of Nablus. NASSER NASSER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Imad Issied

The Associated Press

NABLUS, West Bank >> The Palestinian Authority held a funeral procession Monday for an American activist who a witness says was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week following a demonstration against settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Dozens of mourners — including several leading officials of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority — attended the procession for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship.

Eygi’s body was draped in a Palestinian flag and her face was covered with a traditional black-and-white checkered scarf as security forces carried her and then placed her into a Palestinian ambulance.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli said his country was working on repatriating Eygi’s remains for burial in the Aegean coastal town of Didim as per her family’s wishes. Because the land crossing between the West Bank and Jordan was closed Sunday after an attack on Israeli civilians, the ministry was trying to have the body flown to Turkey.

U.S. officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli peace activist who participated in Friday’s protest with Eygi, said she posed no threat when Israeli forces shot her. He said the killing happened during a period of calm after clashes between soldiers and Palestinian protesters.

Pollak said he saw two Israeli soldiers mount the roof of a nearby home, train a gun in the group’s direction and fire, with one bullet striking Eygi in the head.

The Israeli military says it is investigating what happened. On Saturday it said an “initial inquiry” found that security forces had been deployed to disperse a riot near the town of Beita involving Palestinian and Israeli civilians that “included mutual rock hurling.” The security forces had fired shots in the air, the military said.

Eygi’s family has called on the Biden administration to launch an independent investigation into the killing. The family’s statement was published by International Solidarity Movement, the organization Eygi was volunteering with at the time of her death.

The West Bank has seen a surge of violence since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, with increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis, and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians.