Description

Photos:
Ayşenur Eygi. Published by IMEMC News

Rafdia Hospital in Nablus, on Friday. Credit: AFP. Published by Haaretz

Videos [See links above]:
*Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack's eyewitness account
*Scene at Rafidia Hospital, Nablus
_____

by IMEMC News
Sep 6, 2024

During the weekly demonstration in Beita, Palestine, on the morning of September 6th, 2024, the Israeli army intentionally shot and killed an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) human rights activist named Ayşenur Eygi.

The following statement is from a press release published by the International Solidarity Movement on their website:

The demonstration, which primarily involved men and children praying, was met with force from the Israeli army stationed on a hill. Initially, the army fired a large amount of tear gas and then began using live ammunition. Ayşenur, who we consider a martyr in the struggle, was the 18th demonstrator to be killed in Beita since 2020. She was an American citizen of Turkish descent.

The Israeli forces fired two rounds. One hit a Palestinian man in the leg, injuring him. The other round was fired at international human rights activists who were observing the demonstration, striking a human rights activist in the head. Eygi died shortly after being transported to a local hospital in Nablus.

Fellow ISM volunteer Mariam was on the scene, and witnessed the fatal injury of her comrade. She said:

“We were peacefully demonstrating alongside Palestinians against the colonisation of their land, and the illegal settlement of Evyatar. The situation escalated when the Israeli army began to fire tear gas and live ammunition, forcing us to retreat. We were standing on the road, about 200 meters from the soldiers, with a sniper clearly visible on the roof. Our fellow volunteer was standing a bit further back, near an olive tree with some other activists. Despite this, the army intentionally shot her in the head.

This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the US and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza. Palestinians have suffered far too long under the weight of colonization. We will continue to stand in solidarity and honor the martyrs until Palestine is free.”

A friend of the slain human rights activist and fellow volunteer with the ISM who does not wish their name released said:

“I don’t know how to say this. There’s no easy way. I wish I could [say] something eloquent, but I can’t through my sobbing tears…. my friend, comrade and travel partner to Palestine, was just shot in the head and murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces. May she rest in power. She is now one of many martyrs in this struggle.”

Beita is a village in the West Bank where just weeks ago Amado Sison, another American volunteer, was struck by live ammunition in the back of the leg. Beita has a long history of resistance against Israeli occupation and has been a focal point of violence directed towards Palestinian residents by Israeli forces. Located near several illegal Israeli settlements, the village holds regular demonstrations. Due to escalating aggression by the Israeli forces, residents are currently refraining from marching or chanting, instead gathering together on the land and praying.

In recent years, Beita has seen ongoing demonstrations, particularly against the construction of new illegal Israeli outposts on the lands of the village. For example Evyatar outpost, on Sabih Mountain, has been established on Palestinian land. In June, the Israeli security cabinet approved the ‘legalization’ of Evyatar, causing the people of Beita to strengthen their popular resistance.

Residents of Beita recently restarted weekly Friday demonstrations to resist the further theft of their land. While protests had nearly ceased since October 7th 2023, due to escalating violence from Israeli occupation forces, there was a renewed push on July 5th 2024, when dozens of Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, marched from the adjacent mountain, through the valley, and towards the outpost.

In recent months, international activists have experienced a sharp increase in violence from Israeli forces and the occupation must be held accountable for this. The woman martyred today was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization that provides protective presence and solidarity in the West Bank. The ISM was founded in 2002, and has maintained a steady presence in Palestine ever since, supporting the Palestinian popular struggle against the occupation.

Our comrade is added to the 17 Palestinian protesters already slain in Beita:

**Palestinian demonstrators killed in Beita**
– Mohammed Hamayyel, 15 (March 11, 2020)
– Islam Dwikat, 22 (April 9, 2020)
– Karam Amin Dwikat, 17 (October 15, 2023)
– Issa Sliman Barham, 40 (May 14, 2021)
– Tareq Ommar Snobar, 27 (May 16, 2021)
– Zakaria Maher Hamayyel, 25 (May 28, 2021)
– Mohammed Said Hamayyel, 15 (June 11, 2021)
– Ahmad Zahi Bani Shamsa, 15 (June 16, 2021)
– Shadi Ommar Sharafa, 41 (July 27, 2021)
– Imad Ali Dwikat, 38 (August 6, 2021)
– Mohammed Ali Khbeissa, 27 (September 24, 2021)
– Jamil Jamal Abu Ayyash, 32 (December 1, 2021)
– Fawaz Ahmad Hamayyel, 47 (April 13, 2022)
– Immad Jareh Bani Shamsa, 16 (October 9, 2023)
– Mohammed Ibrahim Adili, 13 (November 23, 2023)
– Maath Ashraf Bani Shamsa, 17 (February 9, 2024)
– Ameed Ghaleb Said al-Jaroub, 34 (March 22, 2024, died of a bullet wound injury to the head sustained on August 21, 2023)
____

Palestinians: American-Turkish Activist Shot Dead by Israeli Army Troops in West Bank

The activist participated in a demonstration in Beita, which has been held every week since the settler Evyatar outpost was established there in 2021. The IDF said it fired at a person who threw stones at soldiers, and is investigating the incident

by Jack Khoury, Hagar Shezaf, and Ben Samuels for Haaretz
Sep 6, 2024 6:55 pm IDT

A 26-year-old Turkish-American human rights activist was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while participating in a demonstration in Beita, near Nablus in the West Bank, according to Palestinian reports.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot in the head with a live round, the director of the Rafidia Hospital where she was taken said. A paramedic in the area said that along with her, a young Palestinian man was also taken to hospital with minor injuries.

In response to the incident, the IDF said it "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them," and added it is looking into claims that a foreign citizen was killed by gunfire.

Protests have been held weekly in Beita since 2021, when the Evyatar outpost was established there. In June, the government approved the legalization of the outpost. Over the years, seven people have been killed in protests in the village.

Haaretz journalist Jonathan Pollack, who was present at the scene, said that the activist was shot by soldiers who were about 150 meters away from Eygi, at a time when things were calm and no clashes were occurring.

According to Pollack, a prayer is said before the beginning of the protest, and soldiers had surrounded the group before it has even begun. After the prayer ended, clashed erupted between the protesters and soldiers, who used tear gas and live fire, pushing protesters toward the homes in the village. Pollack said Eygi was shot 20 minutes after this had all occurred, not during the clashes.

"We were standing in the street, and it was calm; nothing was happening. Soldiers climbed onto the roof of a house, and I saw a soldier aiming, and then I heard gunfire," he recounted. Pollack said, "The first shot hit something metallic and then the thigh of a young man from the village, and then there was another shot. Then someone called my name in English and said they needed help. I ran about 15 meters and saw her [Eygi] lying on the ground under olive trees, bleeding to death. She had a gunshot wound to the head. I looked up and saw there was a direct line of sight between us and the soldiers." Pollak added that the activist had arrived in Israel just a few days earlier, and this was the first protest she had participated in.

According to Pollack, since the start of the war, the Israeli army has been using live rounds as a default. "It's not even escalation anymore; it's just – there are protesters, we'll shoot them with live rounds," he said, adding that the soldier who shot the activist "did it because he knows he can get away with it. The context is the escalating violence and genocide in Gaza."

The governor of Nablus arrived at the hospital and called on the United States and the countries worldwide to intervene. "We say to Biden – the bullets you supply are also killing your own people. To the world we say – stop the criminal war on the Palestinian people."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it had learned with deep regret that our citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has been killed by the Israeli occupation forces."

"We condemn this murder committed by the Netanyahu Government. Israel is trying to intimidate all those who come to the aid of the Palestinian people and who fight peacefully against the genocide. This policy of violence will not work," the foreign ministry said in a statement

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "We deplore this tragic loss. Now, the most important thing to do is to gather the facts," speaking at a joint press conference in the Dominican Republic.

"Let's find out exactly what happened, and we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences from that," he added. "When we have more info, we will share it, make it available and, as necessary, we'll act on it."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew and State Department spokesperson both offered condolences to Eygi's family over her "tragic death," and said the U.S. is "urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death, and will have more to say as we learn more. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens."

The White House National Security Council spokesperson said that the U.S. has reached out to Israel to ask for more information on the incident, and is requesting an investigation.

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen issued a statement saying "The Netanyahu Government – including racist extremists like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir – has fueled settler violence in the West Bank at the same time that it has announced new illegal settlements. The United States cannot turn a blind eye to these actions – including the killing of American citizens." He added that the Biden administration has not done enough to "pursue justice and accountability" on behalf of two other Americans killed in the West Bank since October 7.

"The Biden Administration must do more to hold the Netanyahu Government accountable and use American influence to demand the prosecution of those responsible for harm against American citizens. If the Netanyahu Government will not pursue justice for Americans, the U.S. Department of Justice must," he said.