“Ayse went for peace and became a martyr," says mother of Turkish-American activist killed by Israel

Rabia Birden, the mother of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi who was fatally shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, has demanded to hold Tel Aviv accountable for killing her daughter.

"Ayse was full of joy, excitement, energy, and love, always working for peace. She went for peace, but she lost her life, and my daughter became a martyr," Birden said while talking to TRT World.

She claimed that her daughter was deliberately targeted by Israeli occupation forces for raising voice for the Palestinians.

The 26-year-old activist was shot dead by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank town of Beita, south of Nablus on September 7.

Rabia Birden, mother of Turkish-American rights activist Aysenur Eygi, who was killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, is calling for justice and says her daughter was deliberately targeted. pic.twitter.com/BFhf1QW6ss

— Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) September 14, 2024

Eygi was participating in a protest against illegal Israeli settlement expansion when she was fatally wounded.

According to an activist who was with her, Eygi was standing still and doing nothing when she was shot from a distance.

"It was a deliberate shot because they shot from a very, very, very far distance,” he added.

Turkey's Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has vowed to hold those responsible accountable in a funeral procession for Eygi held in Didim, where she was born.

“Aysenur’s blood will not be in vain and we will hold accountable those who killed her in international courts,” Kurtulmus said.

He added that the responsibility for the killing “lies with Israel and its supporters”.