Gaza [Palestine], September 7: The Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA reported that the shooting of the American woman by Israeli soldiers occurred during a protest by activists in Beita, a village near the West Bank city of Nablus, which has seen repeated attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers, according to Reuters.
Palestinian officials described the woman who was shot as Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who holds both American and Turkish citizenship .
Fouad Nafaa, director of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Reuters that Eygi was rushed to the emergency room in a critical condition with severe head injuries. "We tried to perform a resuscitation operation on her, but unfortunately she died," he said.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Ms. Eygi was shot in the head and blamed the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for her death, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed that its soldiers opened fire on a male "main instigator", accusing him of threatening soldiers by throwing stones.
The Israeli military also said it was looking into reports that a foreign woman "was killed by gunfire in the area. Details of the incident and the circumstances under which she was shot are being reviewed."
The White House said it was deeply saddened by Eygi's death and called on Israel to investigate. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on September 6 condemned Eygi's death and promised to take action "as necessary", according to AFP.
"I have no higher priority than the safety and protection of American citizens wherever they go," Mr. Blinken declared.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
