Three top Democrats from Washington state have urged the Biden administration to investigate the killing of Aysenur Eygi, an American citizen, in the West Bank, as the White House continues to resist her family’s calls for an independent probe.
In a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday, Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Pramila Jayapal requested “an immediate, transparent, credible, and thorough independent U.S. investigation” by the FBI into her death. Sen. Maria Cantwell also urged Blinken and President Joe Biden for an independent review into Eygi’s death in a separate letter.
Eygi, a 26-year-old from Seattle, was volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement, a group that supports Palestinian resistance against Israeli oppression, in the West Bank when she was killed on Sept. 6 during a protest against the expansion of settlements. The Israeli military has said its forces had likely “unintentionally” killed Eygi when “responding with fire toward a main instigator” who was hurling rocks — a claim that Eygi’s family and ISM have wholly rejected, saying it contradicts multiple eyewitness accounts.
A Washington Post investigation published Wednesday also found dozens of videos and witness accounts that reportedly refute Israel’s claim. According to the Post, Eygi was shot more than half an hour after confrontations between protesters and the military had peaked, and after protesters had moved away from Israeli forces. The IDF declined to respond to the Post’s questions. Neither MSNBC nor NBC News has confirmed the Post’s reporting.
Eygi’s family, like those of other American citizens killed by Israeli forces in the past, has demanded an independent investigation into her death. Although top White House officials — including Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who only issued statements about her death this week — have expressed outrage over Eygi’s killing, they have not acknowledged her family’s calls for a U.S. probe, saying instead that they are leaning on Israel’s investigation for answers.








