Family of slain US-Turkish activist ask Blinken to pressure Israel

Relatives of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi said they asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday to pressure Israel to quickly wrap up its probe into her killing.

Eygi was shot on September 6 while taking part in a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Her killing sparked international outrage, particularly from Ankara, further inflaming tensions over the war in Gaza.

Separate Palestinian and Turkish autopsies said the 26-year-old activist had been shot in the head.

The Israeli army acknowledged opening fire in the area and said it was investigating the shooting.

After her killing, Blinken said that Israel needed to make “fundamental changes” to its West Bank operations, while her family has repeatedly sought for a US probe to be launched.

Eygi’s husband Hamid Ali and her sister, Ozden Bennett, met with Blinken on Monday in Washington.

“The meeting went as expected, we heard the same statements… regarding waiting for an Israeli investigation which we don’t find credible,” Bennett said afterward.

Ali said “it’s frustrating to hear the same things again.”

Bennett said they had asked Blinken to “push publicly and put pressure on the Israeli government to at the very least finish their investigation” before the next US administration takes over in January.

Questioned by reporters during his daily briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated that the United States was awaiting the results of the Israeli investigation.

“The secretary in that meeting offered, once again, his deepest condolences” and repeated that her death “never should have happened,” Miller said.

“Israel has told us in recent days that they are finalizing their investigation into the matter,” Miller said, adding that Blinken pledged to Eygi’s family to report back its results “as soon as we learn anything.”