The US government has called for significant changes in Israeli military conduct in the West Bank following the fatal shooting of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old US and Turkish citizen.
Eygi was shot during a protest march in Beita, near Nablus, where Palestinians have faced repeated attacks by far-right Jewish settlers.
The Israeli military expressed deep regret over the incident, stating that the gunfire was not aimed at Eygi, but rather at another individual they referred to as “the key instigator of the riot.”
However, US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, strongly condemned the killing, describing it as “unprovoked and unjustified.”
Eygi’s family has rejected the Israeli military’s explanation, demanding an independent US investigation and accountability for her death.
Blinken and Austin have called on Israel to revise its rules of engagement in the West Bank, with Blinken highlighting the risk to civilians exercising their right to protest.
This marks the second time an American citizen has been killed by Israeli security forces, further straining relations between the US and its close Middle East ally.
The Israeli military has launched a criminal investigation into the shooting, with the White House monitoring the proceedings closely.
