Report highlights killing of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, noting Israeli investigation into her death remains inconclusive
Violence by Israeli forces and illegal settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank reached the highest daily average since the UN began collecting data in 2005, according to a US State Department 2024 Human Rights report.
“In the West Bank, incidents of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property reached the highest daily average recorded since the UN began collecting data in 2005,” said the report, noting that Israel’s High Court ruled on July 29 that the government is obliged to protect Palestinians from such violence," said the report.
It detailed extensive allegations of human rights abuses by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including “reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings; and serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom.”
The report also documented the killing of Turkish American human rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper on Sept. 6 while attending a demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
The report noted an Israel Defense Force (IDF) statement that asserted “it is highly likely that [Eygi] was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her.”
"The IDF’s investigation continued at year’s end," it added.
The report also highlighted restrictions on media freedom: “NGOs and journalists reported authorities restricted press coverage and limited certain forms of expression, especially in the context of criticism against the war or sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza,” it said.
It added that “the Union of Journalists in Israel received reports of five journalist detentions and 13 physical attacks by security forces against journalists during the year.”
Last week, the Washington Post reported on a leaked draft of the report, noting that the section for Israel is significantly shorter, just 25 pages compared to more than 100 pages that were previously produced, and removes references to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, his government’s judicial overhaul and reports on surveillance and movement restrictions affecting Palestinians.
