US Muslim group condemns killing of Turkish-American activist by Israeli army in northern West Bank

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A Muslim American advocacy group on Friday condemned the killing of a Turkish-American activist by the Israeli army in northern occupied West Bank.

"We strongly condemn the Israeli apartheid government for murdering American citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi while she peacefully protested its human right abuses in the Occupied West Bank," Edward Ahmed Mitchell, National Deputy Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Anadolu.

"The Biden administration must condemn this brazen murder of an American citizen, prosecute the Israelis responsible, and stop sending military aid to Netanyahu's racist, murderous government," Mitchell added.

The US on Friday said it is gathering more information about the circumstances of the "tragic death" of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank.

"We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told Anadolu.

On Friday, Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita, located in the Nablus district of the occupied West Bank, according to eyewitnesses.

Fouad Nafaa, director of the Rafidia Hospital, told Anadolu that Eygi arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.

Eygi, who was born in the Turkish city of Antalya in 1998, succumbed to her injuries despite efforts, according to Nafaa.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire with live bullets on a group of Palestinians participating in a demonstration condemning illegal settlements on Mount Sbeih in Beita, south of Nablus.

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

Residents of Beita hold weekly protests after Friday prayers to oppose the illegal Israeli settlement of Avitar, which is established on the peak of Mount Sbeih. The community demands the removal of the illegal settlement, which they view as a violation of their land rights.

Tensions have escalated throughout the occupied West Bank as Israel continues its assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 40,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack last year, which killed nearly 1,200 Israelis.

At least 691 people have been killed and over 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then, according to the Health Ministry.