American Woman Shot Dead at Anti-Israeli Settlement Demo

An American peace activist was killed in the West Bank on Friday, the U.S. State Department said. Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that authorities are “urgently gathering more information about the circumstances” around the death of 26-year-old Aysenur Eygi. Local media are reporting that she was shot in the head by Israeli forces that had been responding to a demonstration against settlement expansion in the northern West Bank. “We have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens,” Miller said. The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed in a statement that Israeli forces “responded with fire” after rocks were hurled. The IDF said it is “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area,” and that the incident is under review. Eygi had arrived in the region on Tuesday to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement as part of a campaign to protect Palestinian farmers, Al Jazeera is reporting . Protests against Israeli settlements have been taking place regularly, with Israeli forces reportedly often responding with violence. A month ago, another American citizen, Amado Sison, said he was shot in the leg by Israeli forces when as he tried to flee the tear gas and live fire at a demonstration. More than 700,000 Israeli settlers are living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite the U.N. Security Council asserting that the settlements are illegal under international law.

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