Family call for investigation after death of US-Turkish woman in West Bank
The family of an American woman shot dead at a protest in the occupied West Bank has called for an independent investigation into her death.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was born in Turkey and lived in Seattle, was reportedly killed by Israeli soldiers at a demonstration on Friday.
The 26-year-old had been at a weekly protest against an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Beita, near Nablus.
The Israeli military has admitted firing at the demonstrators.
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The US government has contacted Israeli officials to "request an investigation into the incident".
But on Saturday Ms Eygi's family said that would not be enough.
In a statement, her family said: "We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate.
"We call on President [Joe] Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."
Ms Eygi held both US and Turkish citizenship.
US officials are looking into the deadly incident and the Turkish government has said it holds Israel responsible for her death.
Ms Eygi, who graduated from the University of Washington, had been volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that its troops had "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them".
The IDF added that it was "looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area".
The ISM said none of its members threw rocks during the protest.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was working to "gather the facts" of Ms Eygi's killing and offered condolences to her family.
The family's statement described Ms Eygi as "a fiercely passionate human rights activist".
While at university she had been active in "advocating for human dignity, and calling for an end to the violence against the people of Palestine".
The statement added: "Like the olive tree she lay beneath where she took her last breaths, Aysenur was strong, beautiful, and nourishing.
"Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military.
"Aysenur was a loving daughter, sister, partner, and aunt. She was gentle, brave, silly, supportive, and a ray of sunshine."
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