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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israeli security forces to make “fundamental changes” after a preliminary investigation found that the IDF likely shot and killed American activist Aysenur Eygi during a protest in the West Bank.
Blinken, speaking Tuesday from London, said initial investigations into the killing on Friday showed Eygi’s death “was both unprovoked and unjustified.”
“No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest,” Secretary Blinken said. “No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views.”
“In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement,” he added.
The top US diplomat also pointed to reports of Israeli security forces “looking the other way when extremist settlers use violence against Palestinians” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Blinken said the US would be making its demands clear to the “senior-most members of the Israeli government.” He did not signal that the U.S. would change its policy of supplying the Israeli military with weapons.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces announced that an initial inquiry from military police found it was “highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her,” but rather at an individual the IDF said instigated a riot against military forces.
“The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,” it added.
Eygi, 26, a recent graduate of the University of Washington, was killed on Friday during a protest against settlements in the town of Beita, near Nablus.
During the protests, a confrontation occurred between IDF forces and villagers after Friday prayers, where some residents threw rocks, activists at the event told The Washington Post.
The Israeli government has described the scene as a “violent riot in which dozens of Palestinian suspects burned tires and hurled rocks toward security forces,” while the activists told The Post the IDF quickly scattered the protest by using live fire and tear gas, then shot Eygi in the head as she stood in an olive grove after the clashes had died down.
The killing has prompted sharp criticisms of the U.S. policy towards Israel from lawmakers and members of the Eygi family.
“Dear Americans, If you are killed by the Israeli government, our country won’t care,” Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian-American member of Congress, wrote on X on Monday. “No one will be held accountable. It doesn’t matter who you are, Israel can kill Americans and get away with it.”
