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Turkey to submit evidence in Turkish-American activist’s killing to int’l courts: report

Palestinians carry the body of slain Turkish-American International Solidarity Movement activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi during a funeral procession in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on September 9, 2024. - The family of the activist who was shot dead on september 6 while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in Beita in the occupied West Bank, demanded an independent investigation into her death, accusing the Israeli military of killing her "violently". (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Turkey will submit evidence in Israel’s killing of a Turkish-American woman in the West Bank this month to the United Nations Security Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), Reuters reported, citing the justice minister on Monday.

Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was killed on September 6 as she took part in a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank amid the war in Gaza.

Israel has acknowledged that its troops shot the activist but says it was an unintentional act during a demonstration that turned violent.

Israel’s Western allies have been angered by surging settler assaults on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, part of historic Palestine which Palestinians want for an independent state. The war in Gaza has also increased tensions in the region.

Turkey has opened an investigation into Eygi’s killing and will request international arrest warrants, Ankara said this month, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey would go to the ICJ over the matter.

Eygi’s death has added strain to ties between Israel and its main ally, the United States, which has been angered by the surge of assaults on Palestinians in the West Bank and demanded a swift investigation into the incident.

Washington has said Eygi’s killing was unacceptable and that Israel must ensure such an incident never happens again.

Israel’s initial findings on the killing do not exonerate its security forces, the United States said, warning that it would consider other measures if it is not satisfied with the results of a full Israeli probe.

“We will bring Ayşenur’s reports to the United Nations Security Council’s agenda and submit our sister Ayşenur’s reports and evidence to the International Court of Justice, where the genocide case is continuing,” Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç told reporters.

“We will also submit Ayşenur’s evidence to the ongoing investigation into Israeli aggressors at the International Criminal Court,” he added, without giving a timeline.

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