New video, witnesses refute Israel's account of Turkish American activist killing in West Bank

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) – New video and witnesses have refuted Israel's account of the killing of a Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank, as an investigative report published on Wednesday clearly confirmed that she was the victim of target-killing.

The Israel army claimed in a statement on Tuesday that it was "very likely" that Eygi was hit "unintentionally" by one of its soldiers.

The statement further claimed that the incident occurred during a "violent riot," with gunfire directed at "the key instigator."

However, in its investigative report, The Washington Post cast doubt on the Israeli army's claims, revealing that Eygi was shot more than 30 minutes after the peak of the confrontations in Beita.

Additionally, the investigation found that Eygi was shot approximately 20 minutes after protesters had moved down the main road, over 182 meters away from the Israeli forces.

A Palestinian teenager, who witnesses say was standing about 18 meters from Eygi, was wounded by fire, but the Israeli army would not say whether he was a target.

Witnesses were unsure how the confrontation began, but it initially followed the typical pattern of clashes between heavily armed soldiers and Palestinian protesters.

Photographs show that some protesters threw stones, including slingshots, while others burned tires on the hillside.

According to residents and activists, Israeli forces first used tear gas to disperse the crowd but quickly switched to live ammunition.

A video recorded at 1:22 p.m. shows the road adjacent to the olive grove, followed by the sound of a gunshot.

An activist can be heard off-camera in Japanese saying, "They are shooting with regular guns."

Steven Beck, an audio forensic expert who consulted for the FBI and reviewed the footage for The Washington Post, confirmed that the sound in the video matched that of a gunshot.

This assessment was supported by a second audio expert, Rob Maher.

An Israeli activist, Jonathan Pollak, recalled that one of the soldiers on the roof was “training his gun in our direction.”

Standing next to a dumpster, Pollak said it had been moved into the middle of the road at the bottom of the hill.

Other activists said he was the closest person to the Israeli troops at that moment, just over 182 meters away.

Eygi was approximately 27 meters farther away from the troops.

Pollak said he saw a muzzle flash and heard two shots. From his veranda, Beita resident Ali Maali described it as a "strong" gunshot sound from above, with the impact shaking the house.

The exact moment of the gunshots was not captured in any of the footage reviewed by The Washington Post, and there was little significant activity at the time to film, according to activists and residents.

“Some people say there were two shots, some say three,” another US volunteer Alex Chabbott said, adding that he thought he heard one shot ping off the dumpster in front of him.

At 1:48 p.m., he started filming. In the background, an unseen woman can be heard screaming, "Gunshot!" as she pleads for an ambulance.

In the olive grove, Australian activist Helen saw Eygi fall face down next to her. She turned over and noticed blood pouring from the left side of her head.

Despite strong evidence that she was a target, the Israeli army claimed in its preliminary investigation into Eygi's murder that she was "highly likely" struck indirectly and unintentionally.

The Israeli army claimed that the fire was aimed at the key instigator of the riot, not at her.

However, the shots that hit the activists, including the one that killed Eygi, were fired about 20 minutes after they had retreated to the bottom of the hill.

This location was over two football fields away from the nearest Israeli soldiers.