Blinken Calls for Change in Israeli Conduct in West Bank After US Protester’s Death

JERUSALEM – Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called for significant changes to Israeli military practices in the occupied West Bank, following the fatal shooting of an American protester opposed to settlement expansion, which Israeli officials characterized as an accident.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old American citizen who also held Turkish nationality, was killed last Friday during a protest in Beita, a village near Nablus. This area has seen repeated attacks from far-right Jewish settlers against Palestinians.

Israel’s military admitted on Tuesday that its initial investigation indicated a high likelihood that its personnel fired the shot that led to Eygi’s death, yet insisted that it was unintentional and expressed profound regret for the incident.

In one of his firmest critiques directed at Israel’s security forces to date, Blinken labelled Eygi’s death as “unprovoked and unjustified.” He emphasized that Washington would push for reforms in how Israeli forces conduct operations in the West Bank.

“No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views,” he stated during a press conference in London.

Furthermore, he declared, “In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including adjustments to their rules of engagement. Now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It’s not acceptable.”

An Israeli government spokesperson refrained from commenting on Blinken’s statements.

The Israeli military revealed that an investigation is ongoing, conducted by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division, and its findings will be reviewed at higher levels once completed.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby remarked that the administration would closely monitor the situation. He noted that a criminal investigation by Israel’s military is an unusual step and expressed interest in the outcomes regarding accountability.

Eygi’s family has criticized the preliminary investigation, deeming it “wholly inadequate,” and has urged President Joe Biden to advocate for an independent investigation into her death.

According to the Israeli military, its commanders found that the gunfire was not directed at Eygi but at another individual they labeled as “the key instigator of the riot.”

The Israeli military described the incident as occurring during “a violent riot” where numerous Palestinian protesters burned tires and threw rocks at security forces at the Beita Junction.

Israel has requested assistance from Palestinian authorities to conduct an autopsy on Eygi.

Eygi’s family expressed deep outrage at the claim that her killing by a trained sniper might have been unintentional, calling such a suggestion offensive.

The increasing frequency of violent assaults by settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank has provoked a response from Western allies, including the United States, which has imposed sanctions on certain individuals linked to the hardline settler movement. These tensions have intensified in the context of ongoing conflicts involving Hamas militants in Gaza.

Since 2020, Palestinians have organized weekly protests in Beita against the expansion of the nearby Evyatar settler outpost. Members of Israel’s far-right ruling coalition have taken steps to legalize previously unauthorized outposts like Evyatar, which the U.S. believes undermines stability in the West Bank and hampers efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has maintained control over the West Bank, an area that Palestinians envision as a central part of a future independent state.

Israel has established a growing network of settlements in the West Bank, which most countries consider illegal. However, Israel disputes this classification, citing historical and biblical claims to the land.

Source: USA Today