Turkish flags have been hung outside a family home in honor of a Turkish-American activist as protests continue over the circumstances of her death.
Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a new graduate from the University of Washington, was targeted and killed by Israel for her bright future. Let her memory inspire justice and peace. pic.twitter.com/mKL3gwSOoD
— Turkish Archives (@TurkishArc) September 6, 2024
Twenty-six-year-old Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s influence is undeniable. She is remembered as a fearless activist who gave her life for a cause she believed in.
Eygi was killed on Friday during a protest against illegal Israeli settlements in Beita, a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. She was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and was shot by an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sniper as she took part in a peaceful demonstration. This makes her the third ISM activist to be killed by Israeli forces since the movement was founded in 2001.
Her death has caused an uproar in her home country of Turkey and in the United States, where she had spent most of her life. The Turkish government condemned her murder and promised to take legal action, while her hometown in the western Turkish province of Aydın, where her grandparents live, was decorated with Turkish flags in her honor.
Following the Hamas attack on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage, Israel launched a military campaign against Gaza that, coupled with a suffocating blockade of Gaza in the following months, was described by many as genocide. While the headlines were about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territories, the West Bank, illegal Israeli settlements began to grow exponentially at the expense of the locals.
Many young activists resisted Israel’s attempt to cleanse the West Bank and Gaza Strip of Palestinians. They either protested at universities, calling on them to divest from Israel, or they went to the West Bank to protect Palestinian farmers from the armed settlers. Eygi was one of these young activists, and her life was ended by an IDF bullet.
A childhood between two worlds
Eygi was born on July 27, 1998 in Antalya, Turkey, and moved to the United States with her family when she was less than a year old. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, where her parents settled in search of better opportunities.
Eygi attended West Seattle High School, where she became involved in various social justice initiatives, including organizing events in support of racial equity and environmental justice.
After high school, she attended the University of Washington, where she majored in psychology and minored in Middle Eastern languages and culture. It was during this time that she became involved in the pro-Palestinian movement, an interest sparked by her studies of the Middle East and her compassion for oppressed peoples.
Eygi’s activism took root during her student years. She participated in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, fighting alongside Native American tribes and environmental activists. Her involvement in the pro-Palestinian movement deepened after she attended a college event about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. She began organizing events and rallies on her campus in support of Palestinian rights and quickly became a prominent figure in the movement.
Eygi was also active in socialist and anti-racist groups in Seattle, including “Seattle Socialist Alternative,” an organization known for its rejection of capitalism and support for marginalized communities. She became a peer mentor at the University of Washington, where she worked with younger students, particularly those from minority backgrounds, helping them navigate the challenges of college life.
The stories of Palestinian families who had lost their homes touched Eygi deeply, and she felt a growing need to do more than organize rallies from afar. After graduating in June 2024, she decided to travel to the West Bank.
In early September 2024, Eygi arrived in the West Bank as a volunteer with the ISM, a Palestinian-led organization that focuses on non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation. The ISM encourages international volunteers to stand alongside Palestinian civilians in areas heavily affected by Israeli military action and illegal settlements.
Eygi was quick to join the weekly protests in Beita, a town near Nablus, where local farmers and activists demonstrate against the expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. While the protests are often peaceful, they are met with violence by the Israeli military, with dozens of Palestinian protesters killed over the years.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was clearly an incredible person. Thinking of her and wishing peace to her memory. pic.twitter.com/qDkAmNYrGp
— Ali Rıza Taşkale (@alirizataskale) September 7, 2024
A life cut short
On the day of her death, she took part in a protest that began with a communal prayer. According to eyewitnesses, IDF soldiers arrived shortly after the prayer and tried to disperse the protesters. Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli activist who was present at the scene, reported that Eygi was shot in the head while standing under an olive tree, about 200 meters from the soldiers. Pollak emphasized that there was no immediate threat to the soldiers at the time of the shooting.
Eygi was taken to the Rafidia Surgical Hospital in Nablus, where doctors tried to save her life. However, her injuries were too severe and she was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival. Her death was yet another casualty in the long-running conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian activists.
The Israeli military on Tuesday stated it was “highly likely” that its forces unintentionally killed Eygi during a West Bank protest.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the act as “murder” and promised to take legal action against the Israeli government. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described Eygi’s death as “barbaric” and promised to take the case to the International Criminal Court.
“We will ensure that those responsible for the murder of our daughter Ayşenur are brought to justice,” Erdoğan said during a cabinet meeting. “The blood of our citizen will not go unavenged.”
Blinken calls “unprovoked and unjust” the killing of American-Turkish citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying Israel’s security forces need to fundamentally change their rules of engagement. The strongest criticism to date from USG on Israeli forces: pic.twitter.com/ijAZIW8D4z
— Hümeyra Pamuk (@humeyra_pamuk) September 10, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing of Eygi as “unprovoked and unjustified,” calling it “unacceptable.” Speaking at a joint press conference with UK Foreign Minister David Lammy on Tuesday, Blinken emphasized that no one should be shot for attending a protest, referring to Eygi as the second American citizen killed by Israeli security forces. He urged Israeli forces to make “fundamental changes” in their operations, particularly in the West Bank, and stressed the need to revise their rules of engagement.
In a later statement, US President President Joe Biden said Eygi’s killing appeared to have been an accident.
“Apparently it was an accident — it ricocheted off the ground, and she got hit by accident,” Biden told reporters, hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the killing was “unprovoked and unjustified.”
The US response has been met with criticism, as many believe the administration’s failure to push for an independent investigation reflects a general reluctance to hold Israel accountable for violence against civilians, including American citizens.
Eygi’s death has been compared to that of Rachel Corrie, another American ISM activist who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. Like Corrie, Eygi has become a symbol of international solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Her family, friends and other activists have expressed their deep sadness at her loss, but have also pledged to continue her work.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi should be alive today.
Instead, she was shot in the head and killed by the IDF while protesting Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank.
She was an American citizen. There must be accountability and a thorough, independent investigation. pic.twitter.com/FQuPq3Sf9R
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) September 9, 2024
On social media, activists and public figures have paid tribute to Eygi’s life and work. Thousands of people have shared posts about her, praising her bravery and calling for an end to the violence that took her life.
WATCH: Cindy and Craig Corrie are demanding independent investigations into the deaths of their daughter Rachel Corrie and of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, both U.S. citizens killed by the Israeli military while participating in nonviolent protest. pic.twitter.com/1o1AboLIgj
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) September 9, 2024
Following Eygi’s death, there have been renewed calls for accountability from the international community. The Israeli military issued a statement saying it was investigating the incident, claiming that the soldiers had only fired in response to a perceived threat. However, activists on the ground have denied this, stating that Eygi posed no threat to the soldiers.
Her family has called for an independent investigation into her death, echoing calls from human rights groups who have long criticized the Israeli military’s use of force in the West Bank.