(https://www.972mag.com/aysenur-ezgi-eygi-funeral-beita/)
You must not bow to Israeli pressure. You must fight for justice for every person murdered by the weapons given to Israel by our government. Enact an arms embargo now.
Friday’s protest, 9/6/24, in the Palestinian town of Beita began like every week, with residents and activists gathering for noon prayers on a hill close to the Israeli settler outpost of Eviatar. Located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the outpost was established in May 2021 on land belonging to residents of Beita.
As soon as prayers ended that Friday afternoon, Israeli soldiers began firing tear gas and live ammunition at the residents and activists, forcing them to retreat back down the hill toward the houses. Mild confrontations ensued, with some of Beita’s youths throwing stones in the direction of the soldiers, but the situation eventually calmed down.
But after a period of calm, an Israeli soldier, who had taken up a position on the roof of one of the Palestinian houses further uphill, suddenly fired two live bullets: the first hit a Palestinian resident in the leg, and the second hit 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi directly in the head.
“We were just standing, not doing anything, and fully visible to the army,” a 32-year-old Italian activist who goes by the name Maria told +972. “All of a sudden I heard two gunshots. A second later, someone called my name, and I turned around to see that Ayşenur was lying unconscious on the ground, with blood coming out of her head.“
Jonathan Pollak, an anti-Zionist Israeli activist who regularly attends protests in Beita, was also nearby when the shooting happened.
“When I got there, [Eygi’s] head was gushing with blood,” he continued. “I kneeled beside her and put my hand behind her head to try and stop the bleeding, but it was impossible. I tried to take her pulse; it was really weak. I looked up for safety and saw a direct line of sight to where the soldiers, whom I had already seen on the roof, were positioned.”
According to eyewitnesses, the stone throwing had ended around 20 min. before Eygi was shot, and took place in a completely different part of the town. Eygi had not been involved in the confrontations, and was simply standing in the residents’ olive groves, a distance of around 230 meters from the rooftop where the shooter was positioned.
“It was completely quiet when it happened, and you would have to be an Olympic stone thrower to reach the soldiers from there anyway,” Pollak said.
Among the activists, there is a consensus that Eygi’s blood is not only on Israel’s hands.
“It’s not only the fault of the Israeli army or the soldier who shot her, but also of the U.S. government for not doing anything to protect its citizens,” Vivi said. “A couple of weeks ago, another U.S. citizen was shot in the leg in Beita and the American government didn’t respond. Because of that, Ayşenur is dead today.”
First sent on September 12 by BlueCollarJew
