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In his first extensive remarks on the death of Aysenur Eygi, the U.S. president called for accountability from Israel.
President Biden said on Wednesday that he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by the killing of an American activist by an Israeli soldier at a West Bank protest last week and that there must be “full accountability” from Israel for her death.
In his first extensive remarks on the death of the activist, Aysenur Eygi, Mr. Biden said in a statement that the shooting “that led to her death is totally unacceptable.”
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it was highly likely that Ms. Eygi was “unintentionally” struck. Mr. Biden expressed confidence in those findings, saying the United States has had “full access” to Israel’s initial investigation and that her death appeared to be “the result of a tragic error resulting from an unnecessary escalation.”
“We will continue to stay in close contact with Israeli and Palestinian authorities regarding the circumstances that led to Aysenur’s death,” he said. “There must be full accountability. And Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.”
The Israeli military has said that it had meant to target a person it described as a “key instigator” of the protest, which it called “a violent riot.” Eyewitnesses have strongly disputed Israel’s account, saying that clashes in the area had finished by the time Ms. Eygi was shot, and that they had occurred in a separate location.
Mr. Biden did not address those accounts in his statement, but said “violence in the West Bank has been going on for too long,” blaming both “violent extremist Israeli settlers” and “Palestinian terrorists.”
“I will continue to support policies that hold all extremists — Israelis and Palestinians alike — accountable for stoking violence and serving as obstacles to peace,” he said.
Liam Stack is a Times reporter who covers the culture and politics of the New York City region. More about Liam Stack
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