The murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi is so recent that her family still speaks in the present tense when referring to her. Her husband, Hamid Ali, smiles when talking about their third wedding anniversary, just a few months ago. To celebrate, the young couple took a boat ride around Seattle and ate Vietnamese food. Özden Bennett, Eygi’s sister, talks about her little sister with tears in her eyes.
“It feels like any day he’s going to get on a plane and come back to tell us about his travels and what he’s learned,” he tells The Guardian.
The pain becomes more intense when they think that Egyi’s murder may go unpunished. “I think the hardest thing for me has been grieving my sister’s death and, at the same time, pushing for justice. “This is something that the US government, the Joe Biden Administration, should be doing proactively.” “I wouldn’t wish it on any family,” he adds.
On September 6, while participating in a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank town of Beita, he was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper. The Israel Defense Forces stated that it was “very likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by soldiers’ gunfire that was not directed at her,” but her family has called for an independent investigation into her death. death and that the US Government supports them in this effort. But as the family waits for a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they despair at the White House’s reaction.
At first, in statements to the media, Joe Biden stated that “apparently it was an accident… [la bala] bounced off the ground and [Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi] “She was hit by accident.” He later called for accountability, calling the shooting “unacceptable.”
The girl’s family fears that without an FBI criminal investigation, the soldier who pulled the trigger may remain anonymous, that his commanding officer will not face public scrutiny and that America’s closest ally will not be held accountable. to justice for what happened.
Ali says the 26-year-old went to the West Bank because “justice in all aspects of life was fundamental to who she was and what she did.” Bennett describes her sister as someone who always had the impulse to act in the face of the suffering of others, and who felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to continue the activism, which had been a cornerstone of her life.
The last time Ali spoke to his wife, it was already nighttime in Seattle, but it was morning in Nablus and she was preparing for her first protest since joining the International Solidarity Movement, a group that was created to have observers in the demonstrations in the West Bank.
Eygi explained that he had investigated the location and was aware of the specific risks posed by the protests in the city of Beita. “It was very clear: I am going to stay behind. “It is my first demonstration,” he recalled.
A month after the death of the young activist, Biden had not yet called the family to offer his condolences. “Biden has always wanted to come across as a deeply empathetic president, even in the context of elections, in contrast to other candidates,” says Ali: “I think a five-minute phone call was the minimum in these circumstances and it’s not much. ask”.
Bennett points out that the family has spoken with the State Department and is scheduled to meet with Blinken. His interlocutors in the White House have suggested that Biden’s call be after this meeting. “If the president wanted to pick up the phone and call us, he certainly could.” Indicates. “[Pero] “Given the comments he made before his official statement, the fact that he did not call makes us think that talking to our family is not one of his priorities.”
Ali says he gets the sense that Biden’s reluctance sends a message: “He values American lives differently when it comes to crimes committed by the Israeli military.”
The White House has also yet to provide any official response to the petition from a growing coalition of US lawmakers regarding Eygi’s murder. Last month, more than 100 members of Congress wrote to the Government demanding that the United States conduct an independent investigation and made concrete proposals on what measures Washington could take if the Israeli Executive refused to cooperate.
Following Eygi’s murder, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris declared that “there must be full accountability,” but stated that the United States government would pressure Israel for answers.
“The fact that the American government, including the vice president, agrees with Israel conducting its own investigation into the murder of an American citizen makes my head explode,” Ali says.
Bennett also mentions the shooting of veteran Al Jazeera journalist and US citizen Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli military raid on a Jenin refugee camp, and what he calls a lack of action by the Biden administration in response. Next month will mark two years of the FBI investigation into the murder of Abu Akleh amid calls for transparency about its progress or conclusions.
“If genuine accountability measures had been taken for Shireen’s murder, it is possible, perhaps even probable, that Ayşenur would not have died the way he did,” laments Bennett. “Likewise, if action is taken now, accountability is held, and true justice is sought for what happened to my sister, perhaps we can prevent another family from going through what we are going through.” In his opinion, if the United States government fails in this last test, another death like Eygi’s is “inevitable.”
“The government of Joe Biden or whoever comes next will have blood on their hands if they are not able to defend our own legislation when American citizens are murdered abroad,” concludes the activist’s sister.
Translation by Emma Reverter
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