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The tragic killing of Turkish-American national Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank has sparked widespread outrage after she was fatally shot during a protest. Eygi, 26, was participating in a demonstration against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the town of Beita, near Nablus, when Israeli troops opened fire on Friday. This was Eygi’s first protest with the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian activist group.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the killing, calling it barbaric, while Turkey’s foreign ministry confirmed that Eygi was killed by Israeli forces. The White House has called for an investigation into the incident, although it has not yet assigned blame. U.S. officials are seeking further information about the circumstances surrounding her death.

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Eygi was taken to a hospital in Nablus, where she was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Jonathan Pollak, a fellow activist who was present at the scene, reported that Eygi was shot in an area where no rocks were being thrown at Israeli forces.

This incident follows a recent nine-day Israeli military operation in Jenin, which resulted in the deaths of at least 36 Palestinians, including children. While many of those killed were identified as militants, civilians were also among the casualties. Israel’s continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem remains a highly contentious issue, as international law considers the settlements illegal, a classification that Israel disputes.

Eygi was a recent graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle and was deeply committed to social justice and advocacy. Her activism, particularly regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was driven by her opposition to the occupation and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the region.