Israel says 'highly likely' army fire 'unintentionally' killed US-Turkish activist

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it was highly likely its forces accidentally shot dead a US-Turkish activist during a protest in the occupied West Bank last week.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was killed with a shot to the head on Friday in the town of Beita, during a peaceful demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements.

The Israeli military said an inquiry had "found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF (Israeli army) fire".

It added that the fire "was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot".

An activist, who witnessed the incident, told Middle East Eye that Eygi and other volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement retreated when soldiers cracked down on the demonstration.

The activist said Israeli forces shot tear gas into the crowd before firing two rounds of live ammunition at the group, one of which struck Eygi in the head.

"When she was shot, she was standing there doing absolutely nothing with one other woman - it was a deliberate shot because they shot from a very, very, very far distance," said the activist, who did not want to be identified.

"It was a deliberate shot to the head." 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara would do everything possible to ensure "that Aysenur Ezgi's death does not go unpunished".

"We will continue our fight against Israel at the highest level by taking it to the (International) Court of Justice," he said.