IDF admits it likely mistakenly killed American activist in West Bank battle

Aysenur Eygi, a 26-year-old American, was probably mistakenly killed during an altercation in the northern West Bank last Friday, the IDF said Tuesday.

An initial IDF probe had said soldiers were aiming for a “central instigator” but likely also struck and killed Eygi unwittingly.

The altercation included dozens of Palestinians throwing rocks and burning tires at soldiers at Beita junction near Nablus, the IDF said.

In addition, the IDF said it had opened a criminal probe into the incident and would transfer the findings to its legal division when concluded, along with a request to perform an autopsy on Eygi’s body.

Finally, the IDF said it regretted having likely caused her death.

Eygi, a dual Turkish-American citizen and recent graduate of the University of Washington, and other activists from the International Solidarity Movement have been assisting Palestinians with protests in the West Bank in recent months, including near an outpost called Evyatar, an offshoot of the Beita settlement.

ISM activists

ISM activists who were at the scene have said the IDF’s explanation was inadequate because the soldiers’ lives were not in danger from rocks being thrown from a distance.

IDF rules of engagement have evolved at points during the war, and whether soldiers feel their lives are in danger even when not being fired upon can also be influenced by how many Palestinians are throwing rocks and whether there are concerns that the dynamic movement of such rock throwers could flank and overcome an IDF position.

On the other hand, if the soldiers who fired cannot show that their lives were threatened, they could face criminal or disciplinary charges.

The US government had demanded a quick probe and transparency regarding the incident.