State Dept. defends not launching investigation into Aysenur Eygi's death

The Biden Administration is facing mounting pressure from both domestic and international media and the family of American-Turkish citizen Aysenur Eygi on its decision to wait for the completion of Israel's investigation into Eygi's death before deciding if it will launch an independent investigation. 

In its initial inquiry released last week, the IDF found it was highly likely its troops had fired the shot that killed Eygi but that her death was unintentional, and it "voiced deep regret."

Addressing reporters on Monday, State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller reiterated the administration's position on awaiting "the full criminal investigation that the Government of Israel has launched before we make any determinations."

"Even if you accept the initial findings, they don't present an acceptable outcome, right?" Miller said, addressing a question on whether witness testimony and footage discrediting Israel's initial findings. "You look at the initial findings, and they already tell you that something went tragically wrong, and you had the killing of an American citizen that never should have occurred."

Before calling on any further steps it's appropriate to let the first investigation play out before going to other steps, Miller said.

The US will "of course" look at whether any other measures are appropriate if the administration is unsatisfied with Israel's results at the end of the investigation and will "certainly be happy to look at how the investigation was conducted, what it produced, if there are any deficiencies, and if we don't find that it meets our standards, we'll have more to say at the time."

Miller added, no one should draw conclusions about the investigation while it's ongoing.

The State Dept. "cannot" give a timetable for when it expects Israel to complete its investigation. 

Turkey opened an investigation into Eygi's death on Thursday and said it will request international arrest warrants, The Post reported last week. 

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Eygi “was deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians. We will make every effort to ensure that this crime does not go unpunished.”

Separately, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office is investigating “those responsible for the martyrdom and murder of our sister Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.”

He told reporters that Turkey had evidence regarding the killing and would make international arrest requests.

Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in their strongest comments to date criticizing the security forces of Washington's closest Middle East ally, described Eygi's killing as "unprovoked and unjustified." They separately said Washington would insist to the Israeli government that it makes changes to how its forces operated 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," Blinken told reporters in London .

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

An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment on Blinken's remarks.

Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday demanded an overhaul of Israeli military conduct in the West Bank. 

On Monday, Miller said he could not speak to what changes Israel may or may not have made over the past few years, but any changes that they made "ultimately haven't been sufficient in preventing these kinds of incidents from occurring."

The Biden administration wants accountability if Israel's investigation shows that someone acted inappropriately in violation of the law, the rules of engagement, or violation of IDF code of conduct, he added

"Yes, of course we want accountability, but we also want a change that will prevent this kind of thing happening again," Miller said. "So you have long term accountability to ensure that American citizens and others, Palestinians, citizens of other countries, aren't killed just for showing up at a peaceful protest."

The US reflection is that Israel needs to change its policies, Miller said, "And we have made that quite clear."

Miller also confirmed that State Dept. officials were in contact with Eygi's family over the weekend. 

Reuters contributed to this report.