Her spirit gives us strength: Türkiye mourns activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank last week, has been laid to rest in her hometown Didim, Aydin, located in western Türkiye.

"This is not just the fault of a few murderous Israeli soldiers. It is the crime of the terror state that condones this act. It is also the crime of certain collaborator states that back the terror state," Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said on Saturday, addressing Eygi's funeral at the Didim Central Mosque.

"Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, like all our martyrs, is immortal to us," Kurtulmus stressed earlier as he offered condolences to Aysenur’s loved ones at her family home.

"Her spirit gives us strength," he added, vowing that Türkiye will follow her case until the end, and that Israel would be held accountable for its actions in international courts.

Eygi's family and friends were accompanied by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunc, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the funeral.

A "fiercely passionate" human rights activist, Eygi was determined to show her support for the Palestinian cause. She was in Beita, Nablus, peacefully observing a protest against illegal Israeli settlements, when she was struck by an Israeli sniper.

She was born in Türkiye in 1998. She was killed by occupation forces at just 26 years old.

Away from the main protest area

Eygi's body was returned to Türkiye on Friday for an autopsy and burial. Initial findings from her autopsy, conducted at the Izmir Forensic Medicine Institute, revealed a head injury caused by a gunshot wound to the lower ear.

The cause of death was recorded as "skull fracture, brain haemorrhage, and brain tissue damage." It was confirmed that there was a bullet entry wound in her head, but no exit wound.

Metallic fragments found in the head were sampled for ballistic analysis. The institution’s examination is ongoing.

An initial autopsy was performed last week at the Forensic Medicine Institute of An-Najah National University in Nablus. Results confirmed that a sniper's gunshot wound to the head caused Eygi’s death.

Eyewitnesses reported that Eygi was in an olive grove, away from the main protest area, when she was fatally shot.

Global vigils in her memory

A funeral procession for Eygi was held in Nablus on Monday, with hundreds walking through the streets, chanting slogans condemning Israeli actions and praising foreign supporters.

Her body, carried on shoulders, was wrapped in the Palestinian flag, and the traditional keffiyeh covered her head.

On Wednesday, hundreds of mourners gathered on a Seattle beach to remember Eygi. It was where she had celebrated her 26th birthday in July, lighting a bonfire with her friends.

"She felt so strongly and loved humanity, loved people, loved life so much that she just wanted to help as many as she could," said Juliette Majid, 26, a doctoral student at North Carolina State University and close friend of Eygi.

"She had such a drive for justice."

Eygi had just graduated from the University of Washington, where she pursued a double major in psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.