US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday (10) called the killing of an American activist by the Israeli military in the Israeli-occupied West Bank “unacceptable” and said Israel must do more to ensure it never happens again.
Israel has claimed responsibility for the death of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed while protesting against settlement expansion in the West Bank. Biden said the United States expects continued access to the criminal investigation into the shooting.
“There must be full accountability. And Israel must do more to ensure incidents like this never happen again,” Biden said in a statement.
Harris said in a separate statement that no one should be killed for participating in a peaceful protest.
“The shooting that led to his death is unacceptable and raises legitimate questions about the conduct of IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) personnel in the West Bank,” she said.
Eygi, who is also a Turkish citizen, was shot dead last Friday at a protest in Beita, a village near Nablus where Palestinians have been repeatedly attacked by far-right Jewish settlers. Israel said her death was accidental.
Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, an area that Palestinians want as the heart of a future independent state. Israel has built a growing collection of settlements there that most countries consider illegal. Israel disputes that claim, citing historical and biblical ties to the territory.
The International Court of Justice said in July that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements was illegal and should be ended as soon as possible.
Eygi’s relatives have called on Biden and Harris to speak directly to the family and order an independent investigation into the killing.
Calling her death an accident “is complicity with the Israeli military’s agenda to seize Palestinian land and cover up the murder of an American. Let’s be clear, an American citizen was killed by a foreign military in a targeted attack,” the family said in a statement.
Senator Patty Murray and Representative Pramila Jayapal, both Democrats, wrote a letter to Biden on Wednesday and called for an “immediate, transparent, credible and thorough” US investigation.
Biden also condemned ongoing violence in the West Bank by “extremist Israeli settlers” and “Palestinian terrorists,” a day after senior US military leaders demanded a review of Israeli military conduct in the occupied West Bank.
This content was originally published in US calls for “accountability” after death of American citizen in West Bank on CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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