RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced preparations Saturday to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

Eygi was shot in her head and killed last week by Israel in the occupied West Bank.

The announcement came during a telephone call Abbas made to Eygi's father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Abbas extended condolences to the Turkish people for the killing of Eygi, whom he described as the “brave daughter of Palestine and Turkey who was assassinated at the hands of the Israeli occupation” and an “honest symbol of the solidarity between the brotherly Turkish and Palestinian peoples.”

“The Palestinian leadership was engaged with the US and Turkish authorities to ensure conducting a fair investigation into her killing and that work was underway to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the crime of her assassination,” he said.

Abbas announced his decision “to bestow upon her the Medal of the Star of Jerusalem in recognition of her dearly sacrifice for the Palestinian people's right to freedom and independence and invited her parents and family to visit Palestine.”

Eygi, 26, had traveled to the region to support Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation, according to reports from the International Solidarity Movement – a Palestinian-led group that is helping the Palestinian cause in the conflict with Israel.

Eygi, born in Antalya, Türkiye in 1998, moved to the US with her family when she was an infant and graduated in June from the University of Washington, where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.​​​​​​​

She arrived in the West Bank last Tuesday to volunteer with ISM as part of an effort to support and safeguard Palestinian farmers.

As coordinated by Türkiye's Embassy in Tel Aviv and Consulate General in Jerusalem, Eygi's body was transported from Tel Aviv to Baku, Azerbaijan, and then to Istanbul and Izmir, where it was received with ceremonies.

After forensic procedures in Izmir but with some autopsy procedures ongoing, Eygi's body was taken to the coastal city of Didim in the Aegean province of Aydin.

Eygi was a human rights activist and a volunteer with ISM, which supports Palestinians with peaceful and civilian methods against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala