Israel says military shot dead US-Turkish woman by mistake – Hartford Courant

Galit Altstein and Courtney McBride | Bloomberg News (TNS)

Israel said its military probably killed an American-Turkish citizen last week by accident, prompting the U.S. to call on its close ally to make “fundamental changes” to how it operates in the West Bank.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, raised in Seattle, was shot dead during a protest in the West Bank town of Beita on Friday. Turkey blamed the Israel Defense Forces, which in a social media post at the time said its troops fired toward “a main instigator” of violence.

“It is highly likely,” the Israeli military said on Tuesday, “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 incident took place during a violent demonstration in which dozens of Palestinians burned tires and threw rocks toward security forces, the IDF said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the investigation seemed to show Eygi’s killing was unjustified and called on the IDF to implement reforms.

“In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement,” Blinken told reporters during a trip to London. “There are serious issues that need to be dealt with.”

The killing has further strained Israel’s relations with Turkey, which have deteriorated during the near year-long war in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described Israel’s conflict against Hamas as a genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel denies.

On Monday, Erdogan vowed to seek justice for Eygi by using all necessary legal measures. Turkey may file a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, he said.

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union, triggered the war in Gaza when its fighters invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed about 41,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.