American woman killed at protest in West Bank

​People react inside a damaged residence following an Israeli raid, in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Sept. 6, 2024.
People react inside a damaged residence following an Israeli raid, in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Sept. 6, 2024.
REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
An American woman was fatally shot at a protest against settlement expansion in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, the State Department confirmed. Witnesses said that Aysenur Eygi, 26, was shot in the head by Israeli forces. Eygi, a dual US-Turkish national, was in the West Bank with the pro-Palestinian activist group International Solidarity Movement.

The IDF said it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area,” adding that the "details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review."

The fatal incident comes at a rocky moment in US-Israel relations, with the Biden administration at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his approach to the war in Gaza and support for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, among other issues.

The tragic news came hours after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin and its refugee camp, a militant stronghold, following a nine-day operation there.

We’ll be watching to see how Eygi’s killing impacts the already tense dynamic between the White House and the Jewish state.

The White House in a statement said it was “deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen,” adding that it’s reached out to the Israeli government “to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident.”

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Frederic Werner discusses the importance of AI for global impact at the 2025 AI for Good Summit in Geneva, in an exclusive Global Stage interview with GZERO's Tony Maciulis. They discuss the future of AI and its role in solving humanity's challenges, from harnessing quantum computing to closing the digital divide.

- YouTube

Elon Musk wants to start a new political party and it’s already making waves. In this episode of Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take, Ian unpacks Musk’s so-called “America Party,” driven by Musk’s frustration with both Republicans and Democrats.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan leave the St Paul’s Cathedral, where a service of commemoration took place to mark the 20th anniversary of the deadly July 7, 2005, London bombings in which four suicide bombers targeted London's public transport system, in London, United Kingdom, on July 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe