Turkiye seeks int’l arrest warrants over US-Turkish citizen killed in West Bank

Turkiye has opened an investigation into the death of a Turkish-American shot by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank and will request international arrest warrants, Ankara said today according to Reuters.

The body of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi will arrive in Turkiye tomorrow, the Foreign Ministry said. She was expected to be buried in the western Turkish city of Didim, on the Aegean coast.

Israel has taken responsibility for the death of Eygi, who was killed last Friday while taking part in a peaceful protest against illegal Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

The Foreign Ministry said she “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,” it said.

Israel has said it was highly likely its troops had fired the shot that killed her but that her death was unintentional.

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 Turkiye had evidence regarding the killing and would make international arrest requests.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday her killing was unacceptable and Israel must do more to make sure such an event never happens again.

READ: US demands overhaul of Israel conduct in West Bank after killing of its citizen