Biden and Harris question IDF’s conduct after killing American protester

Five days after the Israel Defense Force killed Aysenur Eygi, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the conduct of the Israeli military in the region.

Biden and Harris released statements Wednesday morning about the killing of Eygi by the IDF in the Israeli-occupied West Bank last Friday. Harris called the event a “horrific tragedy.”

“Aysenur was peacefully protesting in the West Bank — standing up against the expansion of settlements — when her young life was senselessly cut short. No one should be killed for participating in a peaceful protest,” Harris said in a statement. “The shooting that led to her death is unacceptable and raises legitimate questions about the conduct of IDF personnel in the West Bank. Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.”

The two statements come a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said , “The Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank, including changes in their rules of engagement,” which was the strongest condemnation thus far of Israel’s actions.

Both Biden and Harris recognized the role of the IDF in Eygi’s death, with Biden saying he was “outraged and deeply saddened.”

The president also called the shooting “totally unacceptable.”

“Israel has acknowledged its responsibility for Aysenur’s death, and a preliminary investigation has indicated that it was the result of a tragic error resulting from an unnecessary escalation,” Biden said in a statement.

Eygi, who was a 26-year-old Turkish-American, was in the village of Beita as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. A protest against Israel’s settlement expansion was taking place when IDF dispersed all protesters with live fire and tear gas. It was after the protesters fled the scene that Eygi was shot and killed, according to the Washington Post.

The IDF launched an investigation Friday into the shooting, releasing in its statement that it is “highly likely she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire.”

The United Nations also called for an investigation Friday, but Eygi’s family said in a statement that an Israeli investigation is “not adequate” and requested the United States pursue an independent investigation in order to “ensure full accountability for the guilty parties.”

Biden revealed the U.S. government had full access to Israel’s investigation of the shooting and claims he has been in contact with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. His statement also brought down a firmer hand against violent Israeli extremists than Harris.

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“There must be full accountability. And Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again,” Biden said in a statement.

“The violence in the West Bank has been going on for too long. Violent extremist Israeli settlers are uprooting Palestinians from their homes,” he continued. “Palestinian terrorists are sending car bombs to kill civilians. I will continue to support policies that hold all extremists — Israelis and Palestinians alike — accountable for stoking violence and serving as obstacles to peace.”