Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that preparations are underway to lodge a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli forces.
Abbas informed Eygi’s father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, of the decision in a phone call on Saturday. He also expressed his condolences to the Turkish people, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The Palestinian president hailed Eygi as the "brave daughter of Palestine and Türkiye," who was "assassinated" by the Israeli occupation. He also highlighted her role as a symbol of solidarity between the Turkish and Palestinian peoples.
Eygi, 26, was fatally shot in the head on September 6 while in the occupied West Bank, where she was volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to peacefully observe protests against illegal Israeli settlement.
Abbas confirmed that the Palestinian leadership is currently coordinating with US and Turkish authorities to push for a fair investigation into Eygi’s death, and that a case will be brought to the ICC over the "crime of her assassination."
He further announced his decision "to bestow upon her the Medal of the Star of Jerusalem in recognition of her dearly sacrifice for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and independence," and invited her family to visit Palestine in her memory.
Targeted by an Israeli sniper
Born in Antalya, Türkiye in 1998, Eygi moved to the US with her family as an infant and graduated in June from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.
She had arrived in the occupied West Bank just days before her death to volunteer with ISM, in solidarity with Palestinian farmers. She was a "fiercely passionate" human rights activist, determined to show her support for the Palestinian cause.
Eygi’s body was repatriated with the coordination of Türkiye’s Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Consulate General in Jerusalem. Following forensic examinations in Izmir, her body was laid to rest in her hometown, Didim, in Türkiye’s western Aydin province.
Eygi was a human rights activist and a volunteer with ISM, which supports Palestinians with peaceful and civilian methods against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The cause of death was recorded as "skull fracture, brain haemorrhage, and brain tissue damage." Metallic fragments found in her head were sampled for ballistic analysis. Türkiye's examination into her killing is ongoing.
An initial autopsy was performed last week at the Forensic Medicine Institute of An-Najah National University in Nablus. Results confirmed that a sniper's gunshot wound to the head caused Eygi’s death.
