JERUSALEM − On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged a revamp of Israeli military practices in the occupied West Bank after the tragic shooting of an American protester who was opposing settlement growth, an incident Israel has labeled accidental.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish-American, lost her life during a protest in Beita, a village near Nablus that has faced repeated aggression from right-wing Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that their preliminary investigation indicated a high probability that their troops were responsible for the shot that killed Eygi, asserting that it was not intentional, and expressed profound regret over the incident.

In his most critical remarks regarding the security apparatus of Israel, a key U.S. partner in the Middle East, Blinken condemned the killing of Eygi as “unprovoked and unjustified.” He stated that the U.S. would mandate that the Israeli government implement changes to the conduct of its forces in the West Bank.

“No individual should face gunfire for participating in a protest, nor should anyone risk their life to express their opinions freely,” he remarked to journalists in London.

“In our view, Israeli security forces need to fundamentally reassess their operational conduct in the West Bank, which includes revising their engagement rules,” Blinken emphasized. “This marks the second American citizen lost to Israeli security forces. This situation is unacceptable.”

An Israeli government spokesperson chose not to respond to Blinken’s statements.

The Israeli military stated that an inquiry by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is currently underway, with the results to be reviewed at a higher level once completed.

“We will closely monitor this situation,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby informed reporters, noting that a criminal investigation by the Israeli military is an uncommon move.

“We want to see the developments of this criminal investigation, including its findings, and how accountability is addressed,” Kirby added.

Eygi’s family has characterized the initial investigation as “entirely insufficient” and has called on President Joe Biden to demand an independent investigation.

Initial investigation into American’s death

According to an announcement from the Israeli military, their commanders conducted a preliminary inquiry and concluded that the gunfire was not directed towards Eygi, but aimed at another person identified as “the primary instigator of the riot.”

“The event unfolded during a violent riot when numerous Palestinian protesters burned tires and threw stones at security personnel at the Beita Junction,” it stated.

Israel has approached Palestinian authorities to request an autopsy be performed.

Eygi’s family expressed their outrage at the implication that the trained sniper’s action was anything other than intentional, stating: “We are profoundly offended by this suggestion.”

Increasingly violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have sparked outrage among Israel’s Western allies, including the U.S., which has recently enacted sanctions against certain individuals linked to the extreme settler movement. Tensions have escalated amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

Since 2020, Palestinians have organized weekly demonstrations in Beita against the expansion of the nearby Evyatar settler outpost. Members of Israel’s far-right coalition have taken steps to formalize unauthorized outposts like Evyatar, a move that the U.S. believes jeopardizes West Bank stability and undermines efforts to achieve a two-state resolution to the conflict.

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has maintained control over the West Bank of the Jordan River, an area that Palestinians regard as central to their aspirations for an independent state.

Israel has established a growing number of settlements in this area, which most of the international community views as illegal, although Israel contests this claim based on historical and biblical connections to the land.