Türkiye making efforts to repatriate body of Turkish-American activist killed by Israel

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye is actively working to facilitate the handover of the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, to her family for burial, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

“We continue the necessary work to deliver the body of our citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, to her family for burial,” Oncu Keceli wrote on X.

“We are in contact with the deceased's family members living in the United States and relatives in Türkiye."

Keceli said: “At this stage, the autopsy report is expected to be forwarded to our Consulate General In Jerusalem by the Palestinian authorities,” adding that Eygi’s “body will first be brought to Israel and then transferred to our country via Jordan.”

Eygi, 26, a dual citizen of Türkiye and the US, was shot dead by Israeli forces during a Friday protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita, Nablus district of occupied West Bank.

The international community, including Türkiye, the US and UN, has condemned the killing, and the death has sparked outrage and calls for accountability from both local and international communities.

The Israeli military has yet to comment on the specifics of the incident or the findings of the autopsy.

Eygi’s killing echoes the case of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in a similar manner in 2022.

Shireen, a senior Al Jazeera journalist widely respected for her extensive coverage of Palestine and Israel, was shot in the head on May 11, 2022 while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank city of Hebron. She was wearing a press jacket and a helmet.

* Ikram Kouachi contributed to this story