The Palestinian Authority conducted a funeral procession in Nablus for Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, the American-Turkish activist killed by Israel during a demonstration against settlements in the occupied West Bank last week.

The procession was attended by dozens of mourners, including several high-ranking officials from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

According to Palestinian and Turkish officials, the 26-year-old was fatally shot in the head by an Israeli sniper in the village of Beita on Friday.

Israeli forces employed live ammunition, stun grenades, and tear gas against demonstrators and international activists. Eyewitnesses said Eygi was deliberately targeted despite posing no apparent threat.

United States officials have stated that they still do not “know with full certainty what transpired” and are waiting for the findings from an Israeli investigation.

The US also appeared to resist demands for an independent investigation into her death. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel refrained from acknowledging that Eygi was killed by an Israeli soldier. Instead, he called for the investigative process to “play out and for the facts to be gathered.”

Patel confirmed that the US administration is not planning to independently investigate the killing, despite requests from Eygi’s family.

This stance has drawn criticism, particularly since the US swiftly announced an investigation into the killing of US-Israeli captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Gaza earlier this month.

When questioned about this apparent hypocrisy in approach, Patel said: “Each circumstance is unique and different.”

The United Nations has joined the chorus of voices calling for a “full investigation” into Eygi’s death, while Turkey’s foreign described the incident as “murder.”

Aysenur felt compelled to stand in solidarity with Palestinian

Eygi’s family still insists on an independent inquiry. In a statement, they said: “We appreciate the White House’s condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur’s death, an Israeli investigation alone is insufficient.”

Born in Antalya, Turkey, and raised in Seattle, Washington, Eygi recently completed her studies at the University of Washington. She was actively involved in campus demonstrations against US support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza and associated with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

The family shared their emotions on Instagram, describing their “shock and grief” at the loss. They said Eygi was “gentle, brave, silly, supportive, and a ray of sunshine.”

She was a “fiercely passionate human rights activist” who was “strong, beautiful and nourishing.” They added that she was “taken needlessly, unlawfully and violently by the Israeli military.”

“Aysenur had just turned 26 and graduated three months ago from the University of Washington, where she studied Psychology and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures… Aysenur felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with Palestinian civilians who continue to endure ongoing repression and violence,” they said.

This incident is not isolated. Israeli forces have a history of killing foreign nationals and have killed several US citizens in recent years. Despite this, the Biden administration has consistently opted against independent investigations into these cases.

A prominent example is the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022. Washington resisted calls for a US-led investigation and Israel passed it off as an ‘accident’, declining to pursue criminal charges against their soldiers.