US president calls Israeli killing of Turkish American activist in West Bank an 'accident'

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden called the shooting last week of a Turkish American activist in the head by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank an "accident."

"Apparently it was an accident -- it ricocheted off the ground, and she got hit by accident. I'm working that out now," Biden told reporters Tuesday.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was fatally shot by Israeli forces on Friday during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in Beita, a town just outside of Nablus.

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

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, 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.