Biden and Harris “outraged” by killing of US citizen during West Bank unrest

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday condemned the killing of US citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi after she was killed during unrest in the West Bank last week.

“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the death of Aysenur Eygi,” Biden said in a statement, paying tribute to her as a “young U.S. college graduate” who “was an activist whose idealism led her to travel to the West Bank to peacefully protest settlement expansion.”

In a separate statement, Harris called it a “terrible tragedy that should never have happened.”

He called her death “unacceptable” and said the Israeli military probably caused it through gunfire from Israeli soldiers.

The US has access to Israel’s investigation, Biden said, adding that he expects this to continue “so that we can have confidence in the outcome.”

Biden said the “preliminary investigation has shown that this was the result of a tragic mistake that resulted from an unnecessary escalation.”

“We will continue to press the Israeli government for answers and continued access to the investigation results so that we can have confidence in the results,” Harris said.

He called on Israel to “do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again,” while lamenting decades of violence in the West Bank.

Biden condemned extremist settler violence that is “driving Palestinians from their homes,” while blaming Palestinian terrorism for killing Israeli civilians.

He concluded that his government would take action to hold all extremists – whether Palestinian or Israeli – accountable for acts of violence that block the path to peace.

The Israeli military expressed its “deepest regret” after her killing, which was likely accidental shooting of the instigator of the riot. The criminal investigation is ongoing.