Friends and fellow activists remembered Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi over the weekend and the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it was working to repatriate the body of the Turkish American activist killed by Israel in the occupied West Bank on Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said on Sunday in a social media post that the ministry was working to facilitate the handover of the body of the 26-year-old dual citizen of Türkiye and the United States so her U.S.-based family could hold a burial.
"At this stage, the autopsy report is expected to be forwarded to our Consulate General in Jerusalem by the Palestinian authorities,” Keçeli said, adding that Eygi’s "body will first be brought to Israel and then transferred to our country via Jordan."
Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces during a Friday protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita in the Nablus district of the occupied West Bank. The international community, including Türkiye, the U.S. and the U.N., has condemned the killing, and the death has sparked outrage and calls for accountability from both local and international communities.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the specifics of the incident or the findings of the autopsy. Eygi’s killing echoes the case of American Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in a similar manner in 2022. Shireen, a senior Al-Jazeera journalist widely respected for her extensive coverage of Palestine and Israel, was shot in the head on May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank city of Hebron. She was wearing a press jacket and a helmet.
An autopsy report of Eygi has confirmed she was killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullet to the head, Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas said on Saturday. In a statement to Anadolu Agency (AA), Daghlas said the autopsy results indicated Eygi’s cause of death was a gunshot wound inflicted by a sniper, specifically targeting her head. Eygi had been rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead upon arrival. He said the examination was conducted late Friday night at the Forensic Medicine Institute, An-Najah National University in Nablus. Palestinian officials had earlier suggested Eygi’s death was likely the result of deliberate targeting by an Israeli sniper.
The sources indicated that Eygi may have been intentionally targeted by an Israeli sniper using live ammunition rather than rubber bullets.
Eygi had been actively involved in solidarity movements supporting Palestinian rights. On Sunday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists gathered in the state of Washington where Eygi lived, to protest the killing. Politicians and students convened in Seattle's Westlake Park, carrying photos of the young woman. They chanted slogans against Israel. Speaking at the rally, Akram Baioumy of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, said Ayşenur inspired them and reminded the crowd that she wanted people to do more (for Palestinians). He called upon people to follow her legacy and do everything for a free Palestine. Melissa Chaudhry, a U.S. Congress candidate who joined the activists, said Eygi paid the ultimate price for the great courage she showed for her principles. Chaudhry told AA that it was the United States that paid for the sniper rifle that killed Eygi.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) condemned the killing on Saturday "as an attempt to intimidate and suppress supporters of Palestinian causes. In a statement, the PLO’s Department of Expatriates said the killing of Eygi highlights the brutality and violence of the Israeli occupation against innocent civilians and those who oppose its actions. The PLO held Tel Aviv fully responsible for Eygi’s death and called for substantial international pressure on Israel to halt its violations of international laws and agreements. The organization also demanded adherence to international resolutions and an end to the occupation.
A friend of Eygi described her as "brave,” "honest” and "smart.”
Saif Sharabati, a Palestinian American based in Seattle, spoke with her just hours before her death. She had been preparing to join a protest in Nablus, standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people. "She was getting ready to go to that demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Nablus. She was standing in solidarity with them to defend their land,” he told AA. "She told me: ‘I’m not scared, but I’m not feeling good. I’m stressed out’ ... I told her she’s going to be fine. I told her to stay safe.”
Eygi was deeply impacted by her experiences in the West Bank, according to Sharabati, as it was her first time visiting the region. The harsh reality of the checkpoints and the situation on the ground moved her deeply. She had planned to visit Sharabati’s family in Hebron the following week – a visit that would never happen.
Despite knowing the dangers of traveling to the occupied territory, Eygi was determined to show her support for the Palestinian cause.
"She was brave," Sharabati said. "She was telling me about her plans, about the visits that she was planning to do. She was planning on visiting my family in Hebron, West Bank, the next week. But that didn't happen because she was killed,” he added.
Born in Antalya, Türkiye, Eygi moved to Seattle, Washington, with her parents, Rabia Eygi and Mehmet Suat Eygi, when she was less than a year old and graduated in June from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.
Sharabati and Eygi had met a few months prior at a pro-Palestine university encampment in Seattle, quickly becoming close friends. "Aisha was amazing,” he said. ”She was so nice. She was honest ... She was that person who's doing things from her heart.”
Eygi had confided in Sharabati that this was her first time attending such a demonstration in the West Bank, and she felt nervous. He urged her to stay safe and stay close to locals who knew the behavior of the Israeli soldiers and who knew how to handle the situation. "She loved Palestine. She always wanted to stand with the Palestinians and their resistance against Israeli occupation. She gave me that shirt. It means me a lot,” Sharabati said. "We will never forget Aisha,” he said, wearing a sweatshirt with a Palestinian map on it that she had given him as a gift a month ago.
Nilan Aydın remembers the possibilities of what could have been.
For a year, her fellow psychology major at the University of Washington (UW), Eygi mentored Aydın, then a junior to Eygi’s senior. Eygi helped Aydın navigate the academic rigors of the program, find research opportunities and access accommodations offered by UW for students with ADHD, a condition both women shared.
Despite being perennially busy, Eygi always found the time to lend a hand, a trait Aydın recalls fondly. "She always helped me, always called me to help, always offered me help. She edited my essays. Just helped me in any way that she could. She did a lot for me. I talked about my future goals with her. She shared her future goals with me. She just helped me a lot,” Aydın told AA.
As Aydın reflected on her friend’s legacy, she admired two of her strongest traits, bravery and empathy, saying her former mentor "cared a lot” about others. That became especially pronounced when the women found solace in one another amid Israel’s war against the besieged Gaza Strip.
"I talked about how sad I was about what was happening in Palestine, and she started talking about how she was helping them, and she talked about how she's joining these protests. And I joined some protests too at UW. I really felt connected to her, because I could feel that she really cared about everyone in the world, justice for everyone,” she said.
"I think what she did, going to the West Bank and protesting for the Palestinian farmers there, took a lot of courage. She was such a brave soul,” added Aydın.
Aydın said Eygi would have "liked to be remembered as a brave person who stands on the right side of history, and talks about the problems of the world, because a lot of privileged people, they do not use their privilege to speak about people who are not privileged.”
"She had a great life in Seattle. She graduated from a great school. She didn't have to go there, but she did, and that took a lot of courage, and I think she (would) love to be remembered as a person who cared for everyone, and a brave person,” she added.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry described Eygi’s death as a "murder" committed by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. State Department and the White House said they were gathering more information from Israel about the circumstances of her death and had requested an investigation.
Eygi's family released a statement on Thursday urging the Biden administration for an independent investigation into her killing.
"A U.S. citizen, Ayşenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter. We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Ayşenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," the family said in a statement.
"We call on President Biden, Vice President Harris and Secretary of State Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."
