US demands Israel change behavior after Israeli army says it likely killed an American in the West Bank

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it was “highly likely” that its forces killed an American woman during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank last week. The US called the shooting “unprovoked and unjustified” and called for “fundamental changes” in Israel’s behavior – a rare direct rebuke of a close ally.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, was shot dead on Friday during a demonstration against the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement said at the time.

Washington had called on Israel to investigate the circumstances of Eygi’s death and ensure that the results were “thorough and transparent.” The incident occurred as Israeli forces conducted a deadly, days-long military operation in other parts of the West Bank, reportedly targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a brief statement released on Tuesday that an initial investigation had shown it was “highly likely” that Eygi was “indirectly and unintentionally hit by Israeli fire aimed not at her but at the main instigator” of the protest.

Israeli forces had previously said they responded with fire to a “main instigator” who allegedly threw stones.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli military described the demonstration as a “violent riot in which dozens of Palestinian suspects burned tires and threw stones at security forces at the Beita junction.”

Eygi’s family said she was protesting peacefully when she was killed, and video shows the bullet appeared to have come from an Israeli military gunman.

They had each called for an independent investigation ordered by the US and stated that an Israeli investigation would not be sufficient.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday during a trip to London that the Israeli military’s investigation “seems to confirm what eyewitnesses have said and has made clear that their killing was neither provoked nor justified.”

He added: “In our view, the Israeli security forces must fundamentally change their approach in the West Bank,” and Washington will “make this clear to the highest-ranking members of the Israeli government.”

Whether there are plans for a US-led investigation was still unclear as of Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces added that “an investigation by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Department (MPCID) was launched following the incident. The results, upon completion, will be submitted to the Military Prosecutor’s Corps for review.”

Israel has now requested an autopsy on Eygi’s body, the Israeli army said, adding that it expressed “its deepest regret” over Eygi’s death.

This comes as Israel faces increasing scrutiny over the rise of deadly settler violence in the West Bank. In July, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel’s practices and policies in occupying Palestinian territories violate international law.

The court demanded that Israel cease all new settlement activities and evacuate settlers from the Palestinian territories.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the ICJ ruling as “wrong” and said that “the Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land,” referring to Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The FBI’s investigation into the 2022 killing of another American in the West Bank, veteran Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, is ongoing.

Israel initially blamed Palestinian gunmen for the fatal shooting, but later acknowledged that it was most likely an Israeli soldier who accidentally shot the journalist as she covered Israeli raids in the area.

Israel refused to cooperate with the FBI’s investigation and to date no member of the Israeli military has been prosecuted.