• 'This should all be stopped now, stop arming Israel,' Vicki Narcin, another protester, tells Anadolu
LONDON
The killing of a Turkish-American activist in the West Bank by Israel during a peaceful protest continues to spark anger with British protesters decrying the killing and calling on the US, UK governments to hold Israel to account over the murder.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist, was shot dead by Israeli forces on Friday while participating in a demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita.
An autopsy report of Eygi has confirmed she was killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullet to the head, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas said on Saturday.
Eygi, 26, a dual citizen of Türkiye and the US, had been actively involved in solidarity movements supporting Palestinian rights. Her death has sparked outrage and calls for accountability from both local and international communities.
Speaking to Anadolu, Charlie Burt, a protester, said that journalists, activists and everyone who’s showing solidarity towards Palestine “are on targets.”
"It was a peaceful protest she was attending, and it's unacceptable that anyone would be shot for that or murdered," he said referring to the killing of Eygi.
Burt also demanded that Israel should be held to account over the murder.
"I think, the UK and US governments need to hold Israel to account for her murder. It's disgusting, quite frankly," he added.
Asked whether the government should do more to prevent more killings, Burt said he believes the UK government is "too soft" on Israel at the moment.
Reminding that the government has suspended 30 arms licenses recently, Burt, however, stressed that all of them need to be halted, including F-35 parts.
"We should sanction, divest and boycott Israel completely until the genocide ends and Palestine is free," added Burt.
On Monday, the government announced that it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel after a review, warning there is a clear risk that certain UK arms exports to Israel might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
The 30 licenses cover components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones and items that facilitate ground targeting, excluding UK components for the F-35 fighter jet program.
For her part, Vicki Narcin, another protester, said that killing an activist for protesting against the genocide is “just typical” of the Israeli army to do so.
"This should all be stopped now. Stop arming Israel,” she noted, mentioning that the UK shouldn't have export licenses anymore.
Narcin added: "It is a genocide, it's against international law and in my view, they are war criminals."
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Besides killing more than 40,000 Palestinians since then, the military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form.Nablus governor
UK, US governments need to hold Israel to account for murder of Turkish-American activist: Protesters
ANKARA
An autopsy report of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist, has confirmed she was killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullet to the head, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas said on Saturday.
Eygi, who was participating in a demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita, was shot by Israeli forces on Friday.
In a statement to Anadolu, Daghlas said the autopsy results indicated Eygi’s cause of death was a gunshot wound inflicted by a sniper, specifically targeting her head. Eygi had been rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead upon arrival.
He said the examination was conducted late Friday night at the Forensic Medicine Institute, An-Najah National University in Nablus.
Palestinian officials had earlier suggested Eygi’s death was likely the result of deliberate targeting by an Israeli sniper.
According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, information about Eygi’s death was shared with the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem on Friday.
The sources indicated that Eygi may have been intentionally targeted by an Israeli sniper using live ammunition rather than rubber bullets.
Eygi, 26, a dual citizen of Türkiye and the US, had been actively involved in solidarity movements supporting Palestinian rights. Her death has sparked outrage and calls for accountability from both local and international communities.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the specifics of the incident or the findings of the autopsy.
Eygi’s killing echoes the case of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in a similar manner in 2022.
Shireen, a senior Al Jazeera journalist widely respected for her extensive coverage of Palestine and Israel, was shot in the head on May 11, 2022 while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank city of Hebron. She was wearing a press jacket and a helmet.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi
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