One year on, family of US citizen killed by Israel still seeking justice

Eygi, whose first name is pronounced Aysha-nour, was fatally shot by Israeli forces while participating in a protest against an illegal settler outpost in the occupied West Bank on September 6, 2024.

As Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza, violence in the West Bank has also been on the rise. At least 10 US citizens have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since 2022.

The administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump have ignored calls by Eygi’s family for a US-led investigation into her killing while Washington has continued to provide Israel with billions of dollars in military aid.

Ozden Bennett, Eygi’s sister, said she understands that justice may not be within sight but that does not shake the family’s resolve to keep the slain activist’s memory alive.

“We’re committed to the long-haul journey of seeking justice and accountability and finding meaning in the process of doing that, even if it doesn’t happen immediately or perhaps ever. I’m hopeful it will,” Bennett told Al Jazeera.

“I see us continuing to ask for accountability and justice for my sister because it’s the right thing to do and she deserves that. Every life taken senselessly by Israel deserves that.”

Eygi, whose first name is pronounced Aysha-nour, was fatally shot by Israeli forces while participating in a protest against an illegal settler outpost in the occupied West Bank on September 6, 2024.

As Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza, violence in the West Bank has also been on the rise. At least 10 US citizens have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since 2022.

The administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump have ignored calls by Eygi’s family for a US-led investigation into her killing while Washington has continued to provide Israel with billions of dollars in military aid.

Ozden Bennett, Eygi’s sister, said she understands that justice may not be within sight but that does not shake the family’s resolve to keep the slain activist’s memory alive.

“We’re committed to the long-haul journey of seeking justice and accountability and finding meaning in the process of doing that, even if it doesn’t happen immediately or perhaps ever. I’m hopeful it will,” Bennett told Al Jazeera.

“I see us continuing to ask for accountability and justice for my sister because it’s the right thing to do and she deserves that. Every life taken senselessly by Israel deserves that.”
She had been engaged in activism from a young age and was deeply moved by injustices in the US and abroad. Both Ali and Bennett described her as almost “childlike” in her compassion and playfulness.“She always had that kind of childlike essence to her, that curiosity, that silliness,” Bennett said. “She was such a special, sweet – sometimes annoying – sister that I just miss so much.”

Ali believes it was that authenticity that drove her to activism.

“She was someone who had to live by her values and her beliefs, and she had to say how she felt,” he told Al Jazeera.

“So that’s the kind of person she was, and that’s exactly why she felt like doing the activism that she did in the [United] States wasn’t enough. She felt like going to the West Bank was the next thing that she was able to do.”

At least two more US citizens have been killed in the West Bank since Eygi was shot.

In July, settlers beat Florida-born 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet to death. Less than three weeks later, Khamis Ayyad, 40, a father of five and former Chicago resident, was also killed in another settler attack.

In both cases, the families are calling for a US investigation into the killings, citing statutes that would enable such an investigation, including the US-Israel Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

But the Trump administration has only called on Israel to investigate its own abuses. Israel rarely finds wrongdoing in the conduct of its forces against Palestinians and their supporters.

Similarly, when Eygi was killed last year, the administration of then-President Biden called on Israel to investigate the incident, but it failed to launch its own inquiry.