One year on, family of US citizen killed by Israel still seeking justice

Washington, DC – One year after Israeli forces killed United States citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, her husband, Hamid Ali, says confusion and sorrow continue to grip his life.

“It’s been very painful adjusting to life without Aysenur – an empty house, seeing the effect it’s had on her father and her family. The word I’d use to summarise is confusing,” Ali told Al Jazeera.

Ezgi Eygi, whose first name is pronounced Aysha-nour, was fatally shot by Israeli forces while participating in a protest against an illegal settler outpost in the occupied West Bank^[1] on September 6, 2024.

As Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza, violence in the West Bank has also been on the rise. At least 10 US citizens^[2] have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since 2022.

The administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump have ignored calls by Ezgi Eygi’s family for a US-led investigation into her killing while Washington has continued to provide Israel with billions of dollars in military aid^[3].

Ozden Bennett, Ezgi Eygi’s sister, said she understands that justice may not be within sight but that does not shake the family’s resolve to keep the slain activist’s memory alive.

“We’re committed to the long-haul journey of seeking justice and accountability and finding meaning in the process of doing that, even if it doesn’t happen immediately or perhaps ever. I’m hopeful it will,” Bennett told Al Jazeera.

“I see us continuing to ask for accountability and justice for my sister because it’s the right thing to do and she deserves that. Every life taken senselessly^[4] by Israel deserves that.”

Remembering Aysenur

Ezgi Eygi, who was of Turkish descent and lived in Seattle, Washington, was 26 when she was killed. Those who knew her said she was joyous^[5] and empathetic.

She had been engaged in activism from a young age and was deeply moved by injustices in the US and abroad. Both Ali and Bennett described her as almost “childlike” in her compassion and playfulness.

“She always had that kind of childlike essence to her, that curiosity, that silliness,” Bennett said. “She was such a special, sweet – sometimes annoying – sister that I just miss so much.”

Ali believes it was that authenticity that drove her to activism.

“She was someone who had to live by her values and her beliefs, and she had to say how she felt,” he told Al Jazeera.

“So that’s the kind of person she was, and that’s exactly why she felt like doing the activism that she did in the [United] States wasn’t enough. She felt like going to the West Bank was the next thing that she was able to do.”

At least two more US citizens have been killed in the West Bank since Ezgi Eygi was shot.

In July, settlers beat Florida-born 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet^[6] to death. Less than three weeks later, Khamis Ayyad, 40, a father of five^[7] and former Chicago resident, was also killed in another settler attack.

In both cases, the families are calling for a US investigation^[8] into the killings, citing statutes that would enable such an investigation, including the US-Israel Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

But the Trump administration has only called on Israel to investigate its own abuses. Israel rarely finds wrongdoing in the conduct of its forces against Palestinians and their supporters.

Similarly, when Ezgi Eygi was killed last year, the administration of then-President Biden called on Israel to investigate the incident, but it failed to launch its own inquiry.

‘The hypocrisy is staggering’

That lack of accountability is a recurring pattern. In all 10 cases of Americans being killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers since 2022, no criminal charges have been brought against the perpetrators

The victims include veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh^[9], who was shot in the head while wearing a bright blue jacket labelled “press”.

Rights advocates have called the inaction a form of impunity for those who kill Americans overseas. They trace the trend back decades, as far back as 2003, when an Israeli bulldozer ran over activist Rachel Corrie in Gaza.

She had been trying to protect a Palestinian home from demolition at the time of her death.

Corrie, who was also from Washington state, is now one of the icons of the Palestinian cause in the West. Still, no one has been held accountable for her killing.

Ali drew a parallel between his wife’s death and Corrie’s killing.

“It was the same with Rachel Corrie, and that was 20-plus years ago, so this isn’t anything new unfortunately,” he said.

“We know the pattern, but it’s still frustrating all the same and extremely hypocritical.”

Despite that frustration, Ezgi Eygi’s family members have been bringing their demands to US lawmakers and officials in an effort to keep the case alive.

Last year, they met with then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but according to Ali and Bennett, the top US diplomat conveyed an inability – a proverbial shrugging of the shoulders – to seek justice.

But days before Ezgi Eygi was killed, the US Department of Justice ​filed “terrorism, murder conspiracy and sanctions-evasion” charges against Hamas leaders after the killing of the US-Israeli captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin^[10] in Gaza.

For Bennett, the contrast in the US approach is clear. “It sends a message that not all American lives are equal,” she told Al Jazeera.

Raed Jarrar, the advocacy director at the US-based rights group DAWN, said the US failure to pursue accountability for Ezgi Eygi and other US citizens killed by Israel shows that Washington “values Israeli impunity more than American lives”.

“The hypocrisy is staggering. When US citizens are killed by anyone else, the US government mobilises every diplomatic, economic and military tool at its disposal to demand justice and accountability,” Jarrar told Al Jazeera.

“But when Israel kills Americans, the US accepts Israeli ‘investigations’ and excuses, sends more weapons and shields Israel from international accountability.”

‘Irrelevant’ Israeli probe

An initial Israeli military report after the killing of Ezgi Eygi said she was likely killed by “indirect and unintended” fire. But witnesses have said^[11] she was targeted in the head by a sniper.

There have been reports that a broader Israeli investigation into the incident was also launched, but there have been no public announcements about its results.

The Israeli government’s Foreign Press Department did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Bennett said the family is not expecting any measure of accountability to come out of an Israeli probe.

“The Israeli investigation – to us – is irrelevant because it’s not appropriate or acceptable to have Israel, the perpetrator of the murder, investigate itself,” she said.

For Ali, justice for Ezgi Eygi may appear elusive, but if her memory can help in the liberation of the Palestinian people, he said, that would ease his sense of loss.

“I’m not necessarily confident that it will happen anytime soon or that accountability will come anytime soon, but I know in one form or another, it will come,” Ali said.