Türkiye has launched an investigation into the killing of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist, by an Israeli sniper during a protest in the occupied West Bank.

"Türkiye will continue to defend the rights of Ayşenur and our Palestinian brothers and sisters," Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on Thursday, adding that Ankara would press the U.N. to take immediate action.

Eygi, who also held Turkish citizenship, was shot dead last week while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank town of Beita.

The United Nations rights office has accused Israeli forces of having shot Eygi, 26, in the head.

A witness who was there, Israeli protester Jonathan Pollak, said she posed no threat to Israeli forces and that the shooting came during a moment of calm, following clashes between stone-throwing protesters and Israeli troops firing tear gas and bullets.

The Israeli military claimed Eygi was likely shot "indirectly and unintentionally" by its soldiers, drawing criticism from American officials, including President Joe Biden, who said he was "outraged and deeply saddened" by her killing.

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

Tunç said Türkiye would take the case to the United Nations and push for an independent inquiry into her death.

"We will work to ensure that the (U.N.) Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial and Arbitrary Executions takes immediate action, and that an independent commission of inquiry is established and prepare a report," he said.

Tunç said Türkiye would forward that report to the U.N. Human Rights Council and to the ongoing case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

On Wednesday night, hundreds of people gathered to mourn for Eygi on a sandy beach in Seattle, a favorite place of hers who celebrated her 26th birthday in July there.

The deaths of American citizens in the West Bank have drawn international attention, such as the fatal shooting of a prominent Palestinian American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in 2022 in the Jenin refugee camp. The deaths of Palestinians who do not have dual nationality rarely receive the same scrutiny.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to ensure "that Ayşenur Ezgi's death does not go unpunished."

Eygi's family has demanded an independent investigation.

They are also still waiting for Eygi's body to arrive and are hoping to bury her in the Turkish southwestern town of Didim on Friday.

"It's sad, but it's also a source of pride for Didim," Eygi's uncle Ali Tikkim, 67, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "It's important that a young girl, martyred and sensitive to the world, is buried here."

Eygi was a frequent visitor to the Aegean seaside resort.

"The funeral will likely take place on Friday, but nothing is certain," said Tikkim, who said he believed her body was still in Israel.

The Foreign Ministry separately said on Thursday the procedures for the transfer of Eygi's body to Türkiye were completed today (Sept. 12) by the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv and Consulate General in Jerusalem."

"Israel asked for an autopsy," but Eygi's parents refused and have "hired a lawyer" to inform Israeli authorities, Tikkim said.

The U.S. Embassy in Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, said it was "following the case" but refused to comment.