Aysenur Eygi 'one of sweetest, gentlest souls,' says friend

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A friend remembered a Turkish-American activist who was killed Friday by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

"The woman in this picture is Aysenur Eygi, also known as Aysha. I woke up this morning to the news that she was killed in Beita, Nablus by Israeli soldiers while standing in solidarity with Palestinian farmers," Lubna Alzaroo wrote on Facebook, along with Eygi's photos.

Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district of the occupied West Bank.

Alzaroo said she only met Eygi once, when she had invited cousins and friends to a BBQ as a thank you for helping her move from Renton to Bellevue, Washington.

"My cousins brought Aysha with them so she could meet me," wrote Alzaroo.

"Aysha was one of the sweetest, gentlest souls I’ve met. She made brownies and brought them with her. For a week after we took those brownies everywhere with us and shared them with friends and family.

"She laughed at how loud the Arab guys were, ate my food, chatted with my aunt, told me about the challenges of bargaining with UW (University of Washington) administration about the encampment. She asked for a prayer mat at some point in the evening and then prayed in a corner of my house," she added.

Alzaroo, who is from Hebron, West Bank, said Eygi told her about her plans for the summer.

"She was excited to visit her extended family and friends in Turkey and extremely excited to finally visit Palestine. She promised to visit my family in Hebron and meet my grandmother and parents and then she left after an exchange of numbers and a promise to meet up for coffee once she was back.

"I only met Aysha once and I am devastated beyond words. My condolences to her family and friends and may she rest in power," added Alzaroo.

Fouad Nafaa, the director of the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Anadolu that Eygi arrived at the facility with a gunshot wound to the head. She died from her injuries despite efforts by medical teams to revive her, according to Nafaa.

Witnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire on a group of Palestinians participating in a demonstration condemning the illegal settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, which lies south of the city of Nablus.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa confirmed that the victim was a volunteer with the Fazaa campaign, an initiative aimed at supporting and protecting Palestinian farmers from ongoing violations by illegal Israeli settlers and the military.

Beita residents hold protests after weekly Muslim Friday prayers in congregation to oppose the illegal Israeli settlement of Avitar, which sits atop Mount Sbeih. The community demands the settlement be removed because it violates their land rights.

Eygi was born in the Turkish city of Antalya in 1998, and graduated from the UW in 2024.