Family of an American woman killed in the West Bank blames Israel for her death and calls for independent investigation

The family of an American woman shot dead during a protest in the occupied West Bank is blaming Israel for her death and calling for an independent investigation. In a statement, they said an Israeli-led investigation was inadequate.

Two eyewitnesses told CNN that Aysenur Eygi was shot in the head by Israeli forces in response to a demonstration near the city of Nablus. The 26-year-old had taken part in a weekly demonstration against an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Beita, they added.

The Israeli military has admitted firing at the protesters, and a spokesman for the US National Security Council had previously said the US had contacted Israeli authorities and “demanded an investigation into the incident”.

But on Saturday the family said that was not enough.

“We welcome the White House's expression of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not appropriate,” the statement said.

“We call on President (Joe) Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris, and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable.”

The statement also said Eygi was “killed by a bullet that, according to the video, came from an Israeli military gunman.”

Eygi was a dual U.S. and Turkish citizen. U.S. authorities are investigating the fatal incident, and the Turkish government has said it blames Israel for her death.

Eygi, who graduated from the University of Washington this spring, was a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the same pro-Palestinian activist group as U.S. citizen Rachel Corrie, who was killed in 2003 while trying to stop an Israeli bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that its troops “responded with fire to a key instigator of the violence who threw stones at the forces and posed a threat to them.”

The Israeli military is “investigating reports that a foreign national was killed by gunfire from the area,” the statement added.

The ISM said none of its members threw stones during the protest.

“Aysenur was more than 200 meters away from the Israeli soldiers' location and there were no confrontations there in the minutes before she was shot,” it said in a statement.

“Still, from that distance, neither she nor anyone else could have been perceived as a threat. She was murdered in cold blood.”

“She was gentle and brave”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was working to gather “the facts” about Eygi's killing and expressed condolences to her family – but did not propose any immediate policy changes related to her death.

Even when it was established that Israeli forces were responsible for the killing of Americans in the West Bank – including the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh – the United States did not change its policy and continued to provide significant military support to these forces.

National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett previously said the US was “deeply concerned” about Eygi's killing. “We have reached out to the Israeli government to request more information and call for an investigation into the incident,” he added.

US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew confirmed that Turkish-born Eygi was the victim and said the embassy was “urgently gathering further information about the circumstances of her death.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned Eygi's death, blamed the Israeli government for the murder and confirmed that she was also a Turkish citizen. “We will work to ensure that the murderers of our citizens are brought to justice,” said spokesman Oncu Keceli.

The family's statement praised Eygi as a “passionate human rights activist” who had also participated in student-led protests on campus “to stand up for human dignity and demand an end to violence against the Palestinian people.”

“Like the olive tree under which she lay and took her last breaths, Aysenur was strong, beautiful and nurturing. Her presence in our lives was needlessly, unlawfully and violently taken by the Israeli military,” it said.

“Aysenur was a loving daughter, sister, partner and aunt. She was gentle, brave, silly, helpful and a ray of sunshine.”

Protests are commonplace in Beita. The Palestinian town is located next to a dilapidated Israeli settler outpost called Evyatar. The settlement was not approved by the Israeli state until it was legalized earlier this year. All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com