American activist fatally shot in head in the West Bank: Officials

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was an activist who worked to protect Palestinian farmers.

September 6, 2024, 3:08 PM

A 26-year-old American woman was killed after being shot in the head in the West Bank, according to a hospital.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi -- a dual American and Turkish citizen -- died at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, in the West Bank, according to the hospital director.

Eygi was a "foreign solidarity" activist, one of a number of Americans and other foreigners, who work to protect Palestinian farmers in the West Bank from attacks by Israeli settlers.

The hospital director said medical teams provided CPR after she was shot, but she was later pronounced dead.

In July, shocking video showed a group of activists attacked by settlers near Qusra, in the West Bank, while trying to protect Palestinian farmers harvesting olives.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the "tragic death" of Eygi in the West Bank.

"We offer our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death and will have more to say as we learn more. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens," said Matt Miller, a spokesperson for the State Department.

PHOTO: Medics transport the body of a U.S. citizen after she succumbed to her wound from a reported  gunshot, at a hospital in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 6, 2024.
Medics transport the body of a U.S. citizen after she succumbed to her wound from a reported gunshot, at a hospital in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 6, 2024.
AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden told reporters on the tarmac in Detroit after he deplaned from Air Force One that he was talking to his team and he would have "more" later when asked about Eygi's killing.

"I need more information. That's why I was late coming down," Biden said to reporters. "I was on the phone with my team."

National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said the U.S. is "deeply disturbed by the tragic death" of Eygi in the West Bank. Savett added the White House is in contact with the Israeli government to get more information and to ask for "an investigation into the incident."

The Israel Defense Forces had released a statement on activity in the area where Eygi was killed and said the "incident" is under review.

"The IDF is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review," the IDF said in a statement to ABC News.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned Eygi's killing in a statement.

"We condemn this murder committed by the Netanyahu Government. Israel is trying to intimidate all those who come to the aid of the Palestinian people and who fight peacefully against the genocide," the ministry said in a statement.

"This policy of violence will not work," the ministry continued. "The Israeli authorities who commit crimes against humanity and those who unconditionally support them will be held accountable before international courts."

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a dual American and Turkish citizen, died at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, Sept. 6, 2024.
International Solidarity Movement/Eygi Family

Turkey's Consulate General in Jerusalem is in contact with local authorities regarding the incident, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said.

Eygi's family will decide where her body is buried and if it will be in Turkey, Keçeli said.

Eygi had most recently been living in the United States and was living in Turkey before that, according to Keçeli.

ABC News' Dana Savir, Victoria Beaulé, Shannon K. Kingston, Engin Bas and Kerem Inal contributed to this report.

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