Blinken Says Israel Wants To Make ‘Fundamental Changes’ In West Financial institution After Killing Of American

RAMALLAH, West Financial institution (AP) — The Israeli navy mentioned Tuesday that an American activist who was killed within the West Financial institution final week was doubtless shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli forces who have been aiming at another person.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who additionally held Turkish citizenship, was killed Friday following an indication in opposition to Israeli settlements within the occupied West Financial institution, in response to Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli protester who witnessed the taking pictures.

The Israeli navy mentioned it “expresses its deepest regret” after its inquiry “found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by (Israeli army) fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot.”

Pollak mentioned the taking pictures occurred about half an hour after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces had subsided.

Eygi, a volunteer with the activist group Worldwide Solidarity Motion, was attending a weekly demonstration in opposition to settlement growth that has been held for years and has usually introduced Israeli crackdowns and protester stone-throwing.

The killing got here amid a surge of violence within the West Financial institution for the reason that Israel-Hamas warfare started in October, with rising Israeli raids, assaults by Palestinian militants on Israelis, assaults by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and heavier navy crackdowns on Palestinian protests. Greater than 690 Palestinians have been killed, in response to Palestinian well being officers.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing as “unprovoked and unjustified” whereas talking Tuesday at a information convention in London.

“No one should be shot while attending a protest. In our judgement the Israeli Security Forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank,” he mentioned.

The Palestinian Authority held a funeral procession for Eygi within the West Financial institution metropolis of Nablus on Monday. Turkish authorities mentioned they’re engaged on repatriating her physique to Turkey for burial within the Aegean coastal city of Didim, as per her household’s needs.

The deaths of Americans within the West Financial institution have drawn worldwide consideration, such because the deadly taking pictures of a outstanding Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in 2022 within the Jenin refugee camp.

A number of unbiased investigations and reporting by The Related Press shortly after the killing decided that Abu Akleh was doubtless killed by Israeli fireplace. Months later, the navy mentioned there was a “high probablility” considered one of its troopers had mistakenly killed her however that nobody can be punished.

Earlier in 2022, Israel’s navy mentioned it will punish a senior officer and take away two others from their posts over the loss of life of Omar Assad, 78, a Palestinian-American who was dragged from a automotive by Israeli troops, sure and blindfolded after being stopped at a checkpoint.

The navy later mentioned the troopers believed Assad was asleep once they reduce his zip-ties and left him face-down in an deserted constructing the place he had been detained with three different Palestinians.

The deaths of Palestinians who shouldn’t have twin nationality hardly ever obtain the identical scrutiny.

Human rights teams say Israel hardly ever holds troopers accountable for killing Palestinians and that any ensuing navy investigations usually replicate a sample of impunity. B’Tselem, a number one Israeli watchdog, turned so pissed off with the system that in 2016 it dismissed the probes as a whitewash and halted its decades-long apply of aiding investigations.

The navy says it totally investigates allegations of killing civilians and holds its forces accountable. It says troopers usually should make split-second choices whereas working in areas the place militants disguise amongst civilians.

However even in essentially the most stunning circumstances — and people captured on video — troopers usually get comparatively gentle sentences.

Final yr, an Israeli court docket acquitted a member of the paramilitary Border Police who had been charged with reckless manslaughter in the lethal taking pictures of 32-year-old Eyad Hallaq, an autistic Palestinian man in Jerusalem’s Outdated Metropolis in 2020. The case had drawn comparisons to the police killing of George Floyd in america.

In 2017, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria was convicted for manslaughter and served 9 months after he killed a wounded, incapacitated Palestinian attacker within the West Financial institution metropolis of Hebron. The fight medic was caught on video fatally taking pictures Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who was mendacity immobile on the bottom.

That case deeply divided Israelis, with the navy saying Azaria had clearly violated its code of ethics, whereas many Israelis — notably on the nationalist proper — defended his actions and accused navy brass of second-guessing a soldier working in harmful circumstances.