ISTANBUL (Askume) – Turkey has launched an investigation into the death of a Turkish-American activist who is believed to have been shot by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank and who faced an international arrest warrant.
The body of 26-year-old woman, Esenur Ezgi Ezgi, will arrive in Turkey on Friday, the Foreign Ministry said.
Israel has claimed responsibility for the death of Iggy , who was killed last Friday while taking part in a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The Foreign Ministry said he was “deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians”.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that this crime does not go unpunished,” the statement said.
Israel said it was likely that Israeli soldiers shot him, but that his death was unintentional.
Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said Egi’s body was expected to be flown from Tel Aviv to Baku on Thursday evening and then to Istanbul on Friday morning. He is expected to be buried in the western Turkish city of Didim on the Aegean coast.
Furthermore, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunci said that the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office is investigating “those responsible for the martyrdom and murder of our sister Esenur Ezgi Ezgi”.
He told reporters that Turkiye had evidence of the killing and would seek international arrests.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that his killing was unacceptable and that Israel must do more to ensure it does not happen again.
