First Biden, Now Trump: US Has Done 'Nothing' to Hold Israel Accountable for Killing of Young American
Ayşenur Eygi’s family is still fighting for justice one year after an Israeli soldier killed the 26-year-old peace activist in the occupied West Bank.
A year after Israeli forces shot and killed 26-year-old US citizen Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, her family says they have heard nothing about any completed investigation from either the US or Israeli government.
Asked by Zeteo if any US or Israeli officials have reached out with any updates about his wife’s killing, Hamid Ali replied simply: “No.”
“Nope… nothing,” he added, tiredly.
The reality underscores how meekly the US has responded not only to its “key ally” using billions of US dollars to commit a genocide in Gaza, but also to the killings and brutalization of Americans by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Eygi, a Washington native, was killed as she protested against illegal settlement activity and provided protective presence for Palestinians in the West Bank village of Beita. Eygi was there as part of the International Solidarity Movement, the same group American Rachel Corrie was a part of when she was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003.
In the days after Eygi’s killing, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “We deplore this tragic loss,” while President Joe Biden called it an “accident.” It took more than 100 days for Blinken to meet with Eygi’s family.
“When we met with Blinken during the Biden administration, I think we were hopeful that there might be some swift action. They met with us. We thought that was a good sign,” Ozden Bennett, Eygi’s sister, told Zeteo. "We thought maybe because their administration was heading out the door, that they might be more likely to do something – or the opposite, like less likely to do something, and unfortunately, it ended up being the latter.”
Eygi’s family said that a few local officials have maintained contact and offered support. Last April, Washington representatives passed a House resolution commemorating Eygi. It was ceremonial, not legislative, but “even that was like this dogfight to get through at the state level and nothing would come of it besides just a recognition,” Ali said. He added that the description of Eygi’s killing in the resolution was also sanitized. It read that “on September 6, 2024, her dreams and her life were tragically cut short by a sniper bullet as she bore witness to events unfolding in the Middle East.”
Senior Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington has also maintained periodic contact, but otherwise, there has been silence from top officials.
That silence has continued into the second Trump administration, which has not publicly pushed for justice for Eygi, nor for several other Americans killed by Israeli violence in the last two years.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least seven Americans and attacked several more since October 7. In that time, US politicians have continued to reject efforts to condition or stop aid to Israel.
Asked about Eygi’s case, the State Department said it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens,” but referred Zeteo to the Israeli government for updates regarding the investigation into the killing of an American citizen.
The Israeli military said in a statement to Zeteo that it recently completed its investigation, and the findings were transferred for review to the Military Prosecutor’s office. It did not provide details of the findings.
But to Eygi’s family, the Israeli investigation is irrelevant.