Family of slain Turkish-American activist 'frustrated' after Blinken meeting

WASHINGTON

A memorial ceremony was held around the White House in Washington for activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful protest in the occupied West Bank. Eygi's father Mehmet Suat Eygi, her sister Özden Benett ( in photo) and her husband Hamid Ali, as well as Member of the House of Representatives Rashida Tlaib and a large number of citizens attended the ceremony.

The family of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, expressed frustration Monday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying they heard "the same things" without meaningful action.

Hamid Ali, Eygi's husband, told reporters outside the State Department, "Secretary Blinken was attentive, but unfortunately repeated much of what we've been hearing for the past 20 years, particularly since Rachel Corrie's killing. It's frustrating to hear the same things again."

"We hope that things will be different this time around. But as I said, our expectations are what they are," he said.

The family reiterated their call for a U.S.-led investigation into Eygi's death.

Özden Bennet, Eygi's sister, said they don't find the ongoing Israeli investigation "credible" and urged Blinken to pressure Israel publicly to complete their probe before the change in administration.

Notably, the family revealed that prior to this meeting, no one from the White House or Biden administration had reached out to offer condolences.

Ali said his eyebrows were "raised" upon hearing the same rhetoric repeated after the killing of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American woman who was killed in 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah, Gaza Strip.

Recalling the U.S.' call on Israel to change their rules of engagement, he said: "We've seen changes in rules of engagement and conduct happen for the Israel in the Israeli military, but obviously it didn't work, and if it had, we wouldn't be here today."

The meeting comes as the family continues to push for an independent U.S. investigation into Eygi's killing, which they maintain was a deliberate attack during a peaceful protest.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken informed the family that Israel is "finalizing" their investigation. He added that launching a U.S. investigation would fall under the Justice Department's purview, not State's.

Eygi, 26, was killed on Sept. 6 during a peaceful protest against illegal Israeli settlements near Nablus. While Israel's preliminary investigation suggested she was hit "indirectly and unintentionally," video evidence and witness accounts have contradicted this version of events.

A report by The Washington Post also revealed that Eygi was shot more than 30 minutes after the peak of confrontations in Beita and about 20 minutes after protesters had moved over 200 yards down the main road, away from Israeli forces.

Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation on Sept. 11 into the killing Eygi, who was laid to rest in the town of Didim in western Türkiye after her body was repatriated.