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Friday’s protest was her first time in the field. Throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers made it her last. Turkish born American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was new in the occupied West Bank. The professional agitator had only arrived on Tuesday from the liberal anarchist paradise of Seattle, Washington. She was apparently shot in the head by IDF forces. Since this just happened and nobody’s had a chance to investigate or confirm details, we have to sprinkle in lots of disclaimers.
Soldiers eliminate ‘agitator’
Israeli soldiers, operating in the Jewish occupied part of West Bank, shot and killed Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. The incident happened on Friday, September 6. The 26-year-old American woman from Seattle, Washington, also holds a Turkish passport, since she had been born there. She came specifically to participate in the protest.
In America, they get away with all sorts of aggressive tactics. If any of the locals warned her not to use them there, she apparently didn’t listen.
Whether the soldiers patrolling a Jewish section of the West Bank have full legal authority to even be there is a thorny issue all of its own. Either way, they are there and armed with live ammunition.
The neighborhood has seen enough civil unrest and outright warfare in the past year with their unstable Arab neighbors that nobody is taking any chances.
The IDF has standing orders to suppress anything that looks like it could get out of control and become a mob Arab uprising. The soldiers have full authority to do whatever it takes. That’s what happened here.
Everything was normal and routine about the weekly “protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita near Nablus.” Everything except for an out of town agitator ready to start a riot.
Shouldn’t throw stones
Activists in Arab countries shouldn’t throw stones at soldiers. Stoning is an age old tradition around there. They don’t have television. All it takes to start a frenzy of flying rocks is for someone to throw one first.
The IDF put a stop to that sort of nonsense immediately. They “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.”
Antony Blinken isn’t happy. Our Secretary of State officially “deplored” the “tragic loss.” In diplomat speak, it means he filed a formal complaint.
The option is number 2 on the six point scale that starts with “do nothing” and ends with “declare war.” Blinky stalled for time, since it looks like our half-American citizen asked for it. Throwing rocks at soldiers is suicidal in Palestinian territory.
Blinken promises that if anything needs to be done, he’ll do it. “When we have more info, we will share it, make it available and, as necessary, we’ll act on it.” The Turkish are throwing gasoline on the fire and intentionally trying to make things worse.
The Turkish foreign ministry described her death as “murder,” declaring she was “killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in the city of Nablus.” There’s three sides to every story. One for each side and the truth.
