Family of UW grad killed in West Bank calling for answers four months later
Family of UW grad killed in West Bank seeking justice
It's been four months since Israeli forces shot and killed University of Washington graduate Ayesnur Eygi in the West Bank. Her family is still asking why.
SEATTLE - Standing at the dock where Hamid Ali used to come with his wife, Ayşenur Eygi, he told FOX 13 Seattle that being there without her now is bittersweet.
"It’s a little heavy, but it’s also a nice memory," Ali said.
FOX 13 Seattle talked with him as he reflected on what the last four months without her have been like.
On Sept. 6, 26-year-old Eygi was in the West Bank at a protest against an illegal Israeli settlement. Her family said she was there as an international observer to bear witness and protect the rights of Palestinians who were protesting.
"She was standing under an olive tree in the shade, and she was shot in the head," Ali said. "There was no altercation, there was no justification for it […] Every day feels like I’m reliving what happened on September 6th."
Even though it’s been four months, the family’s calls for answers have gone unanswered.
"It's felt like four years and a blink all at the same time," said Ozden Bennett, Eygi’s older sister. "Someone out there knows who killed my sister, someone out there knows the unit, the commander of that unit that gave those orders to kill her, and why?"
The family met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 16. They told FOX 13 Seattle the government is turning a blind eye to what happened to their loved one.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 8: Pro-Palestinian activists hold up an effigy of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a demonstration in Lafayette Park in front of the White House to protest the war in Gaza on June 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. As the I (Photo by Samuel Corum // Getty Images)
"We're seeking justice, and for us, that means an investigation into her killing to find out what truly happened, instead of the Israeli narrative that has been on display, and we want to know, you know, who did it and why," Bennett said.
While they were hoping to get those answers during that meeting, they said they got a lot of passiveness instead.
"It was a lot of repetition of what we’ve heard, even from 20 years ago when Rachel Corrie was killed," Ali said. "All in all, it was a very disappointing, very frustrating meeting."
Rachel Corrie was also a Washington activist who was killed in a similar scenario nearly 22 years ago.
"She was killed, brutally, unprovoked, unjustly and the U.S. government did nothing about it, nothing meaningful, nor did they hold the country responsible," Ali said.
They don’t know what more they need to do to get the government to investigate her death, the death of a United States citizen.
"Joe Biden has said in the past if you harm an American, we will respond, but there’s been no response when my wife was harmed and killed," Ali said.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller talked about the meeting and Israel’s investigation on Dec. 17.
"We have made clear to them that when they finish that investigation, we want to be briefed on the results of it," Miller said. "We want to know exactly what happened, and why it happened, and who was at fault, and what Israel is doing to make sure such incidents don’t happen again because as I said, her death never should have happened. She was there attending a peaceful protest, and we want to see the answers and we want to give her family answers."
If you google Ayşenur’s name, her sister told FOX 13 Seattle, you can read about her lifelong commitment to advocacy and helping people, but what you might not see is Ayşenur was an aunt, and her family says she was an artist and was goofy.
"Part of what made her jokes funny is that she would find them so funny, and she really had just an endless curiosity for things," Bennett said.
For Ayşenur’s husband, he misses her physical presence. "The feeling of being able to hold her, there was a lot of comfort for me in that," Ali said. "I have pictures and videos to hear her voice and see her, but that’s something that’s really impossible to try and replicate."
"I just miss having my sister," Bennett said. "I miss, you know, the other day, I was out shopping, and I saw something that reminded me of her, and I reached for it, thinking like this would be such a good gift for my sister, and then remembering that, like, she's no longer here for that."
The last time Ali saw Ayşenur, he was dropping her off at SeaTac Airport.
"I dropped her off, we said our goodbyes, but then on the way back home, I turned the car back around and parked and walked into the airport before she went past security and sat there and had a nice moment," Ali said. "I’m really grateful for those extra few minutes that we got to spend together."
The family adds, they have a letter that was sent to Rachel Corrie’s parents from 2011, and a lot of what was said in their meeting with the Secretary of State was almost verbatim from what was in that letter. The family also met with senators and representatives afterward, and they said that gave them some hope.
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