Blinken calls for major Israeli defense reform after killing of American activist in West Bank

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to make major reforms, after an American activist was killed during a protest in the West Bank last week.

The IDF admitted on Tuesday that it was “highly likely” that activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was unintentionally killed by Israeli fire. The IDF said the attack was not aimed at Eygi, but at the "key instigator" of the protest, which it claimed turned violent after protesters hurled rocks at Israeli security. It has not identified who it believes the instigator was. 

Blinken told the IDF during remarks in London that Eygi's death was "unprovoked and unjustified," and called for changes to the security forces' actions in the West Bank moving forward.

“No one, no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for expressing their views,” the secretary said, per CNN. “Now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It’s not acceptable. It has to change. And we’ll be making that clear to the senior-most members of the Israeli government.”

Israel is still conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting, but expressed its “deepest regret” at Eygi's death.

Two doctors have confirmed that Eygi was shot in the head, and a witness reported at the time that he saw her “lying on the ground, next to an olive tree, bleeding to death.” Eygi is a Turkish and American national from Seattle.

Her family on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into the activist's death, stating that they were "deeply offended by the suggestion that her killing by a trained sniper was in any way unintentional."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.