Biden and Harris Demand ‘Full Accountability’ Following Killing of US Citizen in West Bank, Reports Reuters

By Susan Heavey and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed their deep concern on Wednesday regarding the Israeli military’s killing of an American activist in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, labeling the incident as "unacceptable." They emphasized that Israel must take further measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.

Israel acknowledged responsibility for the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who tragically lost her life during a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank. Biden remarked that the U.S. government expects ongoing access to the investigation surrounding the shooting.

"There must be full accountability. Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again," Biden asserted in a statement.

Harris echoed this sentiment, noting in a separate statement that no individual should face death for participating in a peaceful protest. "The shooting that led to her death is unacceptable and raises legitimate questions about the conduct of IDF personnel in the West Bank," she stated.

Eygi, a dual Turkish national, was shot on Friday at a protest march in Beita, a village near Nablus that has seen repeated attacks by far-right Jewish settlers. The Israeli government has characterized her death as accidental.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has been occupying the West Bank, an area Palestinians envision as central to a future independent state. Israel has constructed a growing number of settlements there, which are widely regarded as illegal by most nations. However, Israel contests this view, citing historical and biblical claims to the land.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its settlements were illegal and called for immediate resolution.

Eygi’s relatives have urged Biden and Harris to engage directly with them and initiate an independent investigation into her shooting. They criticized the characterization of her death as an accident, stating, "To call her death an accident is complicity in the Israeli military’s agenda to take Palestinian land and whitewash the killing of an American. Let us be clear: an American citizen was killed by a foreign military in a targeted attack."

Democratic U.S. Senator Patty Murray and Representative Pramila Jayapal wrote to Biden on Wednesday, requesting a "transparent, credible, and thorough" independent investigation.

Biden also condemned the ongoing violence in the West Bank, attributing it to both "extremist Israeli settlers" and "Palestinian terrorists." This statement followed recent demands from senior U.S. officials for a reassessment of Israeli military practices in the occupied territory.