Partner of Turkish American activist rejects Biden's remarks calling her killing by Israel 'an accident'

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The partner of slain Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi rejected US President Joe Biden's characterization of her shooting by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank last week as “an accident.”

"She was fatally shot in the head by a bullet that came from an Israeli sniper positioned 200 meters away. This was no accident, and her killer must be held accountable," Hamid Ali said Tuesday in a statement.

He said that Aysenur was "peacefully standing for justice as an international observer and witness to Palestinian suffering."

Ali's statement came after Biden told reporters that "apparently it was an accident -- it ricocheted off the ground, and she got hit by accident. I'm working that out now,"

The Israeli army said Tuesday that it is “highly likely” that Eygi was “indirectly and unintentionally” hit by fire from its forces.

Eygi, 26, a dual Turkish-US national, was killed by Israeli forces during a protest Friday against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita.

Ali also criticized the lack of communication from the White House, saying: "For four days, we have waited for President Biden to pick up the phone and do the right thing: To call us, offer his condolences, and let us know that he is ordering an independent investigation of the killing of Aysenur."

Biden has not spoken with the family of Eygi to offer his condolences, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday in response to a question.

In a separate statement, Eygi's family expressed outrage over any suggestion that her death at the hands of an Israeli sniper was unintentional, reiterating their call for an independent investigation into her killing.

"The Israeli military's preliminary inquiry into Aysenur's killing is wholly inadequate; we are deeply offended by the suggestion that her killing by a trained sniper was in any way unintentional," the family said in a statement.

"As we mourn the death of our beloved Aysenur, we reiterate our demand for US government leaders -- President Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken -- to order an independent investigation into the Israeli military's deliberate targeting and killing of a US Citizen," the statement added.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel’s killing of Eygi was "unprovoked and unjustified" and that it is "unacceptable."

Eygi, born in Antalya, Türkiye in 1998, moved to the US with her family when she was an infant and graduated in June from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.

She arrived in the West Bank last Tuesday to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement as part of an effort to support and safeguard Palestinian farmers.