Israel’s military said it was highly likely its troops fired the shot that killed an American-Turkish woman at a protest in the occupied West Bank last week, but said her death was unintentional and expressed deep regret, Reuters reports.
US Secretary Antony Blinken said the killing was “unprovoked and unjustified” and showed the Israeli security forces needed to make some fundamental changes in their rules of engagement.
Turkish and Palestinian officials said last Friday that Israeli troops shot 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who had been taking part in a protest against illegal settlement expansion during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a village near Nablus.
Israeli Defence Forces commanders had conducted an investigation into the incident, the military said in a statement today.
“The inquiry found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot,” the military said.
“The incident took place during a violent riot in which dozens of Palestinian suspects burned tyres and hurled rocks towards security forces at the Beita Junction.”
“The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,” it added.
Israel has sent a request to Palestinian authorities to carry out an autopsy, it said.
On Friday, Israel’s military had said it was looking into reports that a female foreign national “was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review.”
US officials had called then for a full inquiry, and said Washington would withhold judgement until Israel presented its findings.
The Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement (ISM) said on Friday that Israel “deliberately” targeted Eygi and denied Israeli claims the protest had not been peaceful.
Israeli soldiers rarely face any accountability for attacks they carry out against Palestinians or internationals so support the Palestinian case. Since Israel’s attack on Gaza, Israeli occupation soldiers have been accused of raping Palestinian men while in detention, with leaked video footage showing the abuse. However after the soldiers were arrested, Israelis and parliamentarians raided the facility where they were held calling for their release. Since then a senior rabbi blessed one of the soldiers and said what did you do? Beat the enemy? So what?”
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