The United Nations has called for a “comprehensive investigation” into Friday’s killing of a Turkish-American woman during protests in the occupied West Bank.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed after Israeli troops opened fire.
The 26-year-old takes part in weekly protests against the expansion of the Jewish settlement in the town of Beitah, near Nablus.
According to local media reports, Ms. Aji was shot dead by Israeli troops. The Israeli military said it was “investigating reports that a foreigner was killed as a result of a shooting in the area.”
One witness told BBC World Service’s NewsHour program he heard two gunshots fired during the protest.
Responding to the killings, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said: “We want to see the situation fully investigated and people held accountable.”
He added that civilians “must always be protected”.
The United States has also called for an investigation into the incident. White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savitt said Washington was “deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen.”
“We have contacted the Israeli government to request more information and to request an investigation into this incident,” Savit said.
Shortly after the shooting, video from the scene showed paramedics loading Ms Agee into an ambulance.
Jonathan Pollak, a Jewish-Israeli activist who attended the protest, told the BBC World Service’s Newstime program that he saw “soldiers on rooftops taking aim”.
He said he heard two separate gunshots “about a second or two apart.”
“I heard someone calling my name in English, ‘Help us. We need help. We need help.'” I ran towards them,” he said.
He said he then saw Ms Aggie “lying on the ground under an olive tree, bleeding to death from her head”.
“I put my hands behind her back to try to stop the bleeding,” he said. “I looked up and there was clear line of sight between the soldiers and where we were. I took her pulse and it was very, very weak.”
He added that Friday’s demonstration was the first time Ms. Agee had participated in a protest with the pro-Palestinian group International Solidarity Movement.
The dual national was rushed to a hospital in Nablus where he was later pronounced dead.
Dr. Fouad Nafaa, director of Rafidia Hospital where Ms. Eygi was hospitalized, confirmed that an American citizen in his 20s died from a “shot to the head.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed regret for the “tragic loss”, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel’s actions “barbaric”.
Türkiye’s foreign ministry said Ms Agui “was killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in the city of Nablus”.
Ms. Eygi recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle before traveling to the Middle East.
The school’s principal, Ana Mari Cauce, described news of her death as “terrible”, while adding that Ms Agee had had a “positive impact” on other pupils.
According to Turkish media reports, Ms. Aji was born in Antalya.
The IDF said in a statement: “While operating near the Beitah area, Israeli security forces fired back at the main instigator of the violence, who threw stones at the Israeli security forces and posed a threat to them.
“The Israel Defense Forces are investigating reports that a foreigner was killed as a result of firing in the area. Details of the incident and the circumstances under which she was shot are under review.”
Jonathan Pollack was asked in an interview with the BBC about the statement by the Israel Defense Forces, which said security forces responded to stone-throwing.
Pollack said there was a confrontation but he did not believe the soldiers were “under threat.”
He said “no one was throwing rocks” where she was.
Israeli troops withdrew from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camps on Friday after a nine-day massive operation.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least 36 Palestinians died at that time, 21 of them from Jenin Province. Armed groups claimed most of the dead were members, but the ministry said children were also among those killed.
Over the past 50 years, Israel has established settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are currently home to more than 700,000 Jews.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law – a position taken by the United Nations Security Council and the British government, among others – although Israel rejects this.
