WASHINGTON

One year after Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces during a protest in the occupied West Bank, her family says justice remains elusive.

Eygi, 26, a dual Turkish-US citizen, was killed by the Israeli military during a protest over illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita near Nablus on Sept. 6, 2024.

Despite video evidence and witness accounts showing that she was targeted by an Israeli sniper, the Israeli military’s preliminary findings claimed she was “highly likely” hit “indirectly and unintentionally” as its forces fired at protesters allegedly throwing rocks.

Her family, friends and eyewitnesses reject Israel’s account, calling her killing a deliberate attack on a peaceful protester and urging the US government to launch an independent investigation. To date, no one has been held accountable.

‘Extremely painful’ year

For Eygi’s husband, Hamid Ali, the past year has been both agonizing and surreal.

“It's felt like an extremely long time, but it's also felt like only a few weeks,” he told Anadolu in a video interview from Seattle, Washington, where Eygi grew up. “Obviously it's been extremely painful.”

Ali said there has been no progress in the pursuit of justice.

“We're still asking for the same thing as we were on day one. There hasn't been any investigation or the results of an investigation that have been shared with us,” he said.

“From the US, it's been the same kind of responses, or not responses, or inaction.”

Seeing his wife become a symbol—her pictures displayed at protests and elsewhere—has been bittersweet for him.

“To us, she's still Aysenur, she's still my wife. She’s Ozden’s sister and her father’s daughter,” he said. “She's this real person that has flaws, that isn't the superhuman symbol or larger-than-life activist or anything like that... She was just a normal, average person, despite what she did, which was admirable.”

US inaction

At the time of her killing, the Biden administration urged Israel to carry out a “swift, thorough and transparent investigation.” Eygi’s family and rights groups say Washington has effectively deferred accountability to Israel itself.

Asked this week if the Trump administration would pursue accountability, a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu: “The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens. We refer you to the Government of Israel for updates regarding the investigation.”

The US Justice Department and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to Anadolu’s requests for comment.

Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into Eygi’s killing, but as of Sept. 4, 2025, it remains ongoing.

Brad Parker, associate director of policy at the Center for Constitutional Rights and part of the legal team supporting Eygi’s family, said: “As it stands now, there is no open investigation by the American government, in any federal agency, into the killing of Aysenur...One year at this point, with absolutely no accountability and not even a willingness to investigate by the American government.”

Pattern of impunity

Parker noted that US agencies such as the Department of Justice and FBI have authority to investigate crimes committed against Americans abroad but have chosen not to act.

“The US is essentially providing impunity, not just for Aysenur’s killing, but we've seen other Americans, Palestinian-Americans, killed in the West Bank, where the US government is also silent, not taking action, not investigating and really essentially saying through their actions that Israeli soldiers and Israeli officials will not be held accountable for the killing of Americans,” he told Anadolu.

He said eyewitness accounts make the circumstances clear.

“Israeli forces shot her while they were stationed on top of a Palestinian home in the village of Beita. It's not a mystery. Many eyewitnesses, Israeli authorities know who the perpetrator is. They know who the unit is,” he said.

“This is a very deliberate choice to provide impunity and not investigate and not hold people accountable that would work to end this violence that we're seeing in the West Bank,” he added.

Parker also pointed to shifting public opinion in the US.

“The general public is shifting dramatically and wants to see accountability, wants to see justice, and wants to see Israeli forces, Israeli leaders held accountable, and to have the US government stop sending weapons and money and providing diplomatic cover,” he said, accusing Washington of providing cover to a government “perpetuating genocide in Gaza.”

Broader toll

Eygi is among at least nine US citizens killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 2022. They include Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and 20-year-old Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, who was killed in July 2025. None of the cases has resulted in accountability.

After Musallet’s death, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he had asked Israeli authorities to “aggressively investigate,” calling the killing a “criminal and terrorist act.” No progress has been reported since.

Ongoing fight

Eygi’s family continues to press for answers. Her sister, Ozden Bennett, will join Ali in Washington, DC on Sept. 15 to meet with members of Congress alongside families of other Americans killed by Israel. Together, they hope to increase pressure on the US to launch its own investigation.

Ali said he has little faith in official action but remains committed.

“Nothing really has changed ... but we're still fighting,” he said.