A whole bunch Collect In Seattle To Keep in mind American Activist Killed By Israel

SEATTLE (AP) — For her twenty sixth birthday in July, human rights activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi gathered mates for a bonfire at one in all her favourite locations, a sandy seashore in Seattle the place green-and-white ferries cruise throughout the darkish, flat water and osprey fish overhead.

On Wednesday night time, a whole lot of individuals traveled to the identical seashore in grief, love and anger to mourn her. Eygi was shot and killed by Israeli troopers final Friday within the occupied West Financial institution, the place she had gone to protest and bear witness to Palestinian struggling.

“I can’t imagine what she felt like in her last moments, lying alone under the olive trees,” one in all her mates, Kelsie Nabass, instructed the group on the vigil. “What did she think of? And did she know all of us would show up here tonight, for her?”

Eygi, who additionally held Turkish citizenship, was killed whereas demonstrating towards settlements within the West Financial institution. A witness who was there, Israeli protester Jonathan Pollak, mentioned she posed no menace to Israeli forces and that the capturing got here throughout a second of calm, following clashes between stone-throwing protesters and Israeli troops firing tear gasoline and bullets.

The Israeli navy mentioned Eygi was possible shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by its troopers, drawing criticism from American officers, together with President Joe Biden, who mentioned he was “outraged and deeply saddened” her killing.

“There must be full accountability,” Biden mentioned in an announcement launched Wednesday. “And Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.”

The deaths of Americans within the West Financial institution have drawn worldwide consideration, such because the deadly capturing of a distinguished Palestinian American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in 2022 within the Jenin refugee camp. The deaths of Palestinians who do not need twin nationality hardly ever obtain the identical scrutiny.

Eygi’s household has demanded an unbiased investigation.

On Thursday, Turkey’s justice minister mentioned his nation is investigating Eygi’s dying. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc mentioned the Ankara chief prosecutor’s workplace was main the Turkish probe. Tunc mentioned Turkey would current its findings to a U.N. court docket overseeing a genocide case towards Israel filed by South Africa over the struggle in Gaza.

“We will take every judicial step for our martyred daughter, Ayşenur,” Tunc mentioned.

Because the solar set Wednesday, turning the sky on the horizon a pale orange, mates recalled Eygi as open, partaking, humorous and devoted. The gang spilled past a big rectangle of small black, crimson, inexperienced and white Palestinian flags staked within the sand to mark the venue for the vigil.

Many attendees wore conventional checked scarves — keffiyehs — in help of the Palestinian trigger and carried pictures of Eygi in her commencement cap. They laid roses, sunflowers or carnations at a memorial the place battery-operated candles spelled out her title within the sand.

A number of described turning into quick mates together with her final spring throughout the occupied “Liberated Zone” protest towards the Israel-Hamas struggle on the College of Washington. Yoseph Ghazal mentioned she launched herself as “Baklava,” a reputation she typically used on messaging apps, reflective of her love of the candy Mediterranean dessert.

Eygi, who attended Seattle colleges and graduated from the College of Washington with a level in psychology this yr, helped negotiate with the administration on behalf of the protesters on the encampment, which was a part of a broader campus motion towards the Gaza struggle.

“She felt so strongly and loved humanity, loved people, loved life so much that she just wanted to help as many as she could,” Juliette Majid, 26, now a doctoral pupil at North Carolina State College, mentioned in an interview. “She had such a drive for justice.”

Eygi’s uncle instructed a Turkish tv station that she had saved her journey a secret from at the very least a few of her household, blocking relations from her social media posts. Turkish officers have mentioned they’re working to repatriate her physique for burial, per the household’s needs.

Turkey’s international ministry says all measures associated to bringing the physique of Eygi, “who was “intentionally” killed by Israeli troopers, to Turkey have been accomplished and she or he is predicted to reach on Friday. She will likely be buried in Turkey. It mentioned the case is being adopted by the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate in Jerusalem.

Sue Han, a 26-year-old regulation pupil on the College of Washington, solely knew Eygi for a couple of months after assembly her on the college encampment, however they shortly turned shut, laughing and blasting music in Eygi’s beat-up inexperienced Subaru. Eygi would decide Han up on the airport after her travels. Most not too long ago, Eygi greeted her with a plastic baggie filled with sliced apples and completely ripe strawberries.

Han noticed Eygi earlier than she left. Eygi was feeling scared and egocentric for leaving her family members to go to the West Financial institution with the activist group Worldwide Solidarity Motion; Han mentioned she couldn’t think about anybody extra selfless.

Eygi cherished to attach individuals, bringing disparate mates collectively for espresso to see how they blended, Han mentioned. The identical was true when she would deliver individuals collectively on the seashore, and it was true of the vigil, too.

“I was looking around at everybody sharing stories about Ayşenur, sharing tears and hugs, and this is exactly what she would have wanted,” Han mentioned. “These new relationships all sharing Ayşenur as the starting seed — it’s the legacy she would have wanted.”