American woman killed during protest against Israeli occupation of West Bank

An American woman died Friday after she was shot during a protest against Israeli settlement expansions in the West Bank. Palestinian officials accused Israeli soldiers of shooting Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, at a weekly demonstration in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew said officials were aware that Ms. Eygi had been killed. The U.S. government is “urgently gathering more information” about the circumstances that led to her death,” he said on social media.

“We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens,” Mr. Lew wrote on X. “We will have more to say as we learn more.”

Israeli officials said their troops were near Beita at the time of the shooting. They opened fire at what they described as a “main instigator” of violent activity who threw rocks at their position.

Israeli military officials “are looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area,” the military said in a statement. “The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review.”

Ms. Eygi, who had dual U.S. and Turkish citizenship, was rushed to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus and placed in the intensive care unit. “Despite the efforts of medical teams to save her, she passed away due to her severe injuries,” WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, said in a news report.

The Jerusalem Post said Ms. Gygi was part of the Faz’a campaign, which supports Palestinian farmers in clashes with Israel’s military or Israeli settlers. She was also a member of the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement.

Palestinian media said the confrontation escalated after Israeli forces fired live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas at the demonstrators. An 18-year-old Palestinian activist was hit in the thigh with shrapnel during the same incident, according to WAFA.

The Palestian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday condemned the shooting, calling it just the latest in a series of violent actions committed by Israel against Palestinians and their supporters.

“The Israeli government bears full responsibility for this heinous crime,” foreign ministry officials said in a statement.

The Biden administration’s relations with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have grown tense as Israel resists a cease-fire deal and new violence has flared up in Palestinian communities of the West Bank.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a trip to Central America this week, told reporters Friday it was too soon to tell what action the U.S. government would take as details of the shooting are still coming to light.

“First things first — let’s find out exactly what happened and we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences from that,” he said. “When we have more info, we will share it, make it available and, as necessary, we’ll act on it.”