US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken requested a review of the actions of the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, and condemned the fatal shooting of an American-Turkish citizen who participated in protests against settlement expansion. Israel claims her death was an accident.
Aysenur Ezgi Eggi, 26, a dual citizen of the US and Turkey, was killed last Friday at a protest march in the village of Beita, where Palestinians have repeatedly reported being attacked by Jewish settlers.
The Israeli military said an initial investigation showed it was highly likely that its troops fired the shot that killed the activist, but that it was not intended to kill her.
In his harshest comments yet, criticizing the security forces of its closest Middle Eastern ally, Blinken described the killing as "unprovoked and unjustified".
He said Washington would insist that the Israeli government change the way its forces operate in the West Bank.
"No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should risk their life just for freely expressing their views," said the US Secretary of State. "In our assessment, the Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank, including changes in their rules of engagement. Now we have a case of another American citizen being killed by Israeli security forces. This is not acceptable."
An Israeli government spokesman declined to comment on Blinken's statements.
The Israeli army announced that an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Department of the military police is underway and that its findings will be submitted to higher authorities when completed.
"We will be watching it very, very carefully," said White House national security spokesman John Kirby, adding that the criminal investigation was an unusual step by the Israeli military.
The family of the murdered activist assessed the preliminary investigation as "totally inadequate" and called on US President Joe Biden to demand an independent investigation.
Preliminary investigation
Israel's military said it had conducted an initial investigation into the incident and found that the target was not the American-Turkish activist, but another person it called a "key instigator of the riots."
"The incident occurred during violent riots in which dozens of suspected Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at security forces," the statement said.
Israel has requested the Palestinian Authority to perform an autopsy.
The rise in violent attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank has sparked anger among Israel's Western allies, including the US, which has imposed sanctions on some Israelis involved in the hardline settler movement.
Tensions have been heightened amid Israel's war against the extremist Hamas movement in Gaza.
Palestinians have been protesting every week in Beita since 2020, due to the expansion of the nearby Evjatar settlement.
Ultranationalist members of Israel's ruling coalition have worked to legalize illegal settlements like Eviatar, which Washington considers a threat to stability in the West Bank and a move that sabotages work toward a two-state solution.
Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, an area the Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state. Israel has built settlements there that most countries consider illegal. Israel disputes that claim, citing historical and biblical ties to the territory.
Bonus video:
