What’s being said about Israel killing Turkish-American activist Aysenur? | Gaza News

The body of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has returned to Turkey to be buried in Didim, where she was born.

The Turkish-American activist was killed by Israeli troops last Friday while protesting against illegal Israeli settlements.

Israel claims Aysenur was killed accidentally during a protest in Beita, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, but growing evidence contradicts that, with witnesses saying Israeli soldiers deliberately killed her.

The Israeli army said, after a brief investigation, that it was “highly likely [she was] hit” by its soldiers, adding that it was “indirectly and unintentionally”.

Who was Aysenur?

Aysenur was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a group that has been protesting against Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the punishing treatment of Palestinians for years.

She had arrived in the occupied West Bank just a few days before she died, to attend training with other volunteers before being assigned to a protest atop a hill outside Beita, along with Palestinian, Israeli and other international activists.

Her friends describe a warm, caring young woman with big plans for her future, including studying law. From a young age, people agreed, protesting for the rights of people whose rights were being stolen from them was very important to Aysenur.

What happened that day?

The group performed the communal Friday noon prayers on September 6. Israeli soldiers surrounded them as they prayed and not long after they finished, Israeli soldiers started shooting and using tear gas as demonstrators threw stones back.

Aysenur and the other volunteers retreated about 200 metres (656 feet) down the hill, some placing obstacles behind them, such as rocks and a dumpster, to slow any pursuit, before hiding behind a tree from the violence.

As the activists sheltered, the Israeli soldiers regrouped, with photographs showing four positioning themselves on top of resident Ali Maali’s house, overlooking where the demonstrators were.

After about 20 minutes as Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak recalled, two gunshots rang out.

Aysenur was discovered, face down. She had been shot.

An unnamed Palestinian boy, described as being about 17 years old, was some 18 metres (60 feet) away from Aysenur and was wounded by the other gunshot, which ricocheted and hit him in the thigh.

“I found her lying on the ground … bleeding from her head,” Pollak said, Aysenur’s blood still visible on his hand.

Video at 1:49pm shows Aysenur surrounded by paramedics before being loaded into an ambulance. Doctors pronounced her dead shortly afterwards.

What did witnesses say?

None of the activists spoken to by Al Jazeera or any of the titles reporting on Aysenur’s killing reported a riot.

Neither is violence on the part of the protesters visible in any of the extensive footage shot of the build-up to Aysenur’s murder.

A statement subsequently issued by the ISM directly contradicts Israeli claims of a physical disturbance ahead of Aysenur’s killing, with one volunteer, Mariam Dag – a pseudonym – saying: “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.”

In comments to Al Jazeera, Italian activist Mariam – another pseudonym – described how she had been about 10 to 20 metres (30 to 60 feet) and slightly in front of Aysenur at the time of the shooting.

“We were more than 200 metres below the army, who was positioned on the street and on a rooftop. Clearly visible,” she said.

“It was a deliberate shot to kill, to her head. The fate that many Palestinians have suffered,” she said.

What did Israel say?

Four days after Aysenur’s death, the Israeli army claimed she had been killed during an effort by their soldiers to suppress a riot.

According to its statement, the army found it “highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli fire “which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot”.

“The incident took place during a violent riot in which dozens of Palestinian suspects burned tires and hurled rocks toward security forces at the Beita Junction.”

Despite requests from the Washington Post, the Israeli military has yet to offer evidence to support its claims.

What did the Turkish government say?

Turkey has launched an investigation into Aysenur’s killing and has said it will be seeking international arrest warrants for those responsible.

In its statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Aysenur had been “deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians”.

“We will make every effort to ensure that this crime does not go unpunished.”

What did the US government say?

The United States government has said it is “deeply disturbed” by the killing of its citizen.

However, the US has decided not to launch its own investigation – as Aysenur’s parents have requested – and has asked Israel to investigate its own soldier’s shooting, itself.