Blinken demands overhaul of Israeli conduct in West Bank after killing of US protester
World
Blinken demands overhaul of Israeli conduct in West Bank after killing of US protester
LONDON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday demanded an overhaul of Israeli military conduct in the occupied West Bank as he decried the fatal shooting of an American protester against settlement expansion, which Israel said was accidental.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who is also a Turkish national, was shot dead last Friday at a protest march in Beita, a village near Nablus where Palestinians have been repeatedly attacked by far-right Jewish settlers.
Israel's military said on Tuesday that its initial inquiry found it was highly likely its troops had fired the shot that killed her but that her death was unintentional, and it voiced deep regret.
In his strongest comments to date criticising the security forces of Washington's closest Middle East ally, Blinken described Eygi's killing as "unprovoked and unjustified". He said Washington would insist to the Israeli government that it makes changes to how its forces operate in the West Bank.
"No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views," he told reporters in London.
"In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement.
"Now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It's not acceptable," he said.
Raed Muammar lost one of his daughters in the explosions which began in the middle of the night.
An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment on Blinken's remarks.
The Israeli military said an investigation by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division was under way and its findings would be submitted for higher-level review once completed.
"We're going to be watching that very, very closely," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, saying a criminal probe was an unusual step by Israel's military.
