Aysenur Igi, a 26-year-old Turkish American activist, was killed last Friday by an Israeli soldier while protesting Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank; According to eyewitnessesHe was shot in the head. He is only the latest American to be killed by the Israeli military, with no apparent consequences from the United States.
US options to ensure accountability are somewhat limited. When an ally like Israel kills an American, the United States can apply diplomatic pressure, try to involve American law enforcement, or change military and trade relations. So far, the United States appears to be focused on the first option, with President Joe Biden It called for “full accountability” for Eygi’s death and called it “a tragic error”.
Biden also told reporters on Tuesday that the results of the initial Israeli investigation indicated that Izzi was killed by a bullet that exploded from the ground and Another was intended for what the IDF called “the main instigator.” of the protest, which it described as a “violent riot”.
Soldiers reportedly used tear gas, stun grenades and live ammunition against the protesters, who were part of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led group working to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands through non-violent means. ISM contrasts with the Israeli military’s assessment of a Statement on Tuesdaysaid that the visible target was too far from Eygi for it to be hit directly or indirectly, and accused the Israeli military of other inconsistencies.
D The Washington Post Wednesday released an investigation that also disputes the IDF’s account. According to the Post’s analysis, Izzy was shot and killed half an hour after the most intense part of the protest and after the protest had moved from where it had been standing.
Eygi’s family out statement On Wednesday, Biden pushed back on claims that Iggy’s killing was an accident. “This is not only insensitive and false, it is complicit in the Israeli army’s agenda to occupy Palestinian land and whitewash an American,” the statement said, calling it “a targeted attack.”
This is not the first time that an American citizen has been killed by the Israeli army
Iggy is the third American citizen killed in the West Bank since Israel began its war in Gaza following an October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
The first was 17-year-old Tawfiq Azaq (also known as Tawfiq Abdel Jabbar), originally from New Orleans. Ajaq and his family are gone The family’s ancestral village in the West Bank so they can connect with their Palestinian heritage.
Ajak was reportedly killed by an off-duty police officer in January Driving in a pickup truck with a friend (Accounts of the circumstances of the teenager’s death differ; relatives initially said he was barbecuing in a field with a friend.) Israeli police claimed a gun was fired at people “allegedly engaged in rock-throwing activity” on a highway near the village. Three people — a police officer, a soldier and a civilian — were reportedly at the scene, but it was unclear who shot and killed Azak.
Another American-born teenager, Mohammad KhaddurThe following month, the two boys were killed under similar circumstances, prompting a State Department inquiry into the families of the two boys. Associated Press; It is unclear who killed him or whether Israel has investigated his murder.
Israeli police have promised an investigation into Azak’s shooting, but the status and outcome of that investigation are unclear. Vox reached out to the Israel Police and COGAT, Israel’s military agency responsible for administration in the occupied territories, about the status of the investigation, but did not receive a response.
Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist, was killed by the Israeli army in 2022 while doing her job and was clearly identified as a member of the press. (Israel killed More than 100 journalists in Gaza since it started its operations there in October.).
Initially, Israel blamed Palestinian militants for his death, but Extensive media reporting And Evidence points to an Israeli soldier. The Israeli military eventually claimed responsibility for his murder, and the FBI reportedly opened an investigation into his murder. so far, The investigation found no allegations. Vox reached out to the FBI for an update on the investigation but did not receive a response by press time.
Israeli killings of US civilians go back to at least 2003, when American activist Rachel Corey was crushed in Gaza by an Israeli soldier while driving an armored Caterpillar-brand bulldozer to prevent it from moving to demolish Palestinian homes.
At the time, lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution calling for a US-led independent investigation into Cory’s murder, but it was never brought to a vote. Corey’s family tried to sue Israel’s judicial system And Even Caterpillar tried to sueBut more than 20 years later, no charges have been filed in her death.
All told, at least 10 US citizens have been killed by Israelis in the past 20 years – mostly by the Israeli police or army – including A helper at World Central Kitchen According to the Institute for Middle East Understanding, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
“In every case where an American is killed or it’s a high-profile assassination, the Israeli authorities [say]’Okay, we’ll investigate,’ and then it takes them time … weeks or months later, once the pressure and the heat is off, they basically whitewash the whole thing and nobody’s held accountable,” Brad Parker, policy associate. director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, told Vox.
These come in addition to American deaths Settler violence and military operations in the West Bankwho have killed at least 660 Palestinians there since October 7.
In Gaza, at least 40,000 people have been killed since the war began, but the number is likely much higher; A recent article The Lancet Medical journals put the number as high as 186,000.
“When an Israeli American dual citizen is brutally murdered we see a double standard. There is a humanitarian response and a demand for justice from the United States, as any atrocity committed against a US citizen abroad should be,” IMEU policy director Josh Rubner told Vox. “But why this double standard for American citizens murdered by Israel? Why is Israel so exceptional?
What can the United States do about Americans killed by Israel?
The United States can pursue two avenues in seeking reparations for Americans killed by Israel: the diplomatic route and the legal route.
So far, US leaders have supported the former over Iggy’s assassination. The Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, for example, made a statement about the killing of Izzy.
“It has to change,” Blinken said of Israeli military action in the West Bank. “And we will make it clear to the most senior members of the Israeli government.”
There are legal avenues for prosecution that the United States could also take, Brian Finucane, US policy director at the International Crisis Group, told Vox, including demanding that US officials be allowed to participate in a full and impartial investigation into the killing.
“One way the US has responded is that sometimes they will send the FBI in a supporting role to local law enforcement agencies to help investigate serious crimes against Americans,” he said. “Where the Department of Justice may have jurisdiction, the FBI may also investigate,” if the other country allows it to conduct it. Although Israel said This has been allowed in the pastIt is unclear whether the country will do so this time.
Biden administration statements indicate they will look to Israel to investigate Izzy’s murder; However, “there are many reasons to be deeply skeptical of Israel’s investigation into the killings, not only because of the killings of Shirin and other Americans, but also because of the much more regular violence in the West Bank, for which there is little or no accountability,” Finucane said.
The administration could invoke the Leahy Act, which prohibits the transfer of US weapons to military units that commit gross human rights violations. However, this seems unlikely: the law was not meaningfully enforced in Israel, Despite the pressure to do soincluding from Former Sen. Patrick LeahyAfter whom the law is named.
The State Department reportedly recommended several IDF and Israeli police units for this Authorization under the Leahy Act, But so far it has not been implemented.
“There is simply zero appetite to implement existing laws in any meaningful way, and that includes the Arms Export Control Act and the Leahy Act,” Parker said.
Representative Pramila Jaipal and Sen. Patty Murray, both of Washington, Blinken and sent a letter to Biden Wednesday asked if the United States would request a formal investigation into Izzy’s killing and what other steps the administration would take to ensure accountability for his death.
