An investigation conducted by The Washington Post refutes Israel’s account of the Israeli military shooting of Aysenur Eyzi Eygi, a 26-year-old American activist who was killed in the occupied West Bank on September 6.
Eygi was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper bullet during a protest against illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank village of Beita organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The Israeli military said it was “highly likely” one of its soldiers shot Eygi but claimed the headshot was “unintentional” and that the real target was the “key instigator” of a riot that was taking place.
But the Post’s investigation, which was based on videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts, found that Eygi was shot more than a half-hour after Israeli soldiers confronted the protesters and 20 minutes after the protesters moved down the road and were more than 200 yards away from Israeli forces, a distance where they could pose no threat.
The shooting occurred near a Jewish settlement, known as the Evyatar outpost, that was first built in 2021 and was recently given approval by the Israeli government. Palestinian residents in the area meet near the outpost on Fridays for weekly prayers as an act of protest.
Hisham Dweikat, a local resident and member of the Palestinian National Council, told the Post that the Israeli military began coming to the area to break up the prayers. “They suppress us with tear gas and bullets, but the activities continued,” Dweikat.
On September 6, the day Eygi was shot, the Israeli military confronted the Palestinian residents and used tear gas and live ammunition, according to eyewitnesses. The Post said photos showed some of the protesters throwing stones at the Israeli occupation forces.
Eygi, who was attending her first protest in the West Bank, immediately ran for cover in an olive grove when the violence began. She was shot after 20 minutes of calm, during which the Israeli soldiers were over 200 yards away from the protesters. A Palestinian teenager, who was about 20 yards away from Eygi, was wounded by the Israeli gunfire.
The Post said the Israeli military did not respond to questions about the incident. When Israel first said that its forces “unintentionally” shot Eygi, President Biden backed the claim. “Apparently, it was an accident — it ricocheted off the ground, and she got hit by accident. I’m working that out now,” he said.
Biden later released a statement saying he was “outraged” over Eygi’s killing but still repeated the Israeli claim and gave no indication the US would launch its own investigation.
“Israel has acknowledged its responsibility for Aysenur’s death, and a preliminary investigation has indicated that it was the result of a tragic error resulting from an unnecessary escalation,” Biden said. “The US government has had full access to Israel’s preliminary investigation, and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the result.”
