SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Hundreds of people gathered in Turkey today for the funeral of a Turkish American woman killed by Israeli troops at a West Bank protest against Israeli settlements. Her family is calling on the U.S. government to investigate the shooting.
Gokce Saracoglu is in Istanbul and joins us now to talk more about this. Welcome.
GOKCE SARACOGLU, BYLINE: Hello, Scott. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
DETROW: Tell us more about where the funeral took place today.
SARACOGLU: Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was buried in Didim, in southwest Turkey, where many of her family members live. The 26-year-old was shot in the head a week ago in a Palestinian village in the West Bank, and she was taking part in a protest against the expansion of a nearby Israeli settlement. Well, witnesses and Palestinian officials say she was shot in the head while standing under an olive tree. And the Israeli military says it is investigating the incident.
As you said, today, hundreds of people joined the family at the funeral, which took place a day after Turkish authorities carried out an autopsy. Her uncle said she had not told her family she was going to the West Bank to join the protests. She had even blocked her social media, so they wouldn't know where she was and worry about her.
DETROW: Yeah. I mentioned before calls from the family. Can you tell us more about what her family is saying at this point?
SARACOGLU: Yeah. At this point, where - her father has made a statement calling on the U.S. government for an independent investigation. Basically, the family do not trust the Israeli military. President Joe Biden has called for full accountability, but the U.S. has not yet announced if it will launch an investigation into the killing. And Eygi's uncle told Turkish media that Israel's initial claim that it may have been an accident was, quote, "absurd."
DETROW: And Eygi is, of course, a Turkish American. Tell us more about what Turkey is saying here.
SARACOGLU: So Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Turkey has started its own investigation into Eygi's death, and he said they will issue an international arrest warrant for those who killed her. Turkish President Erdogan said he blames Israel for, quote, "treacherously killing the U.S.-Turkish activist." He said Turkey will take every legal step, including applying to the International Court of Justice, which is considering a South African case accusing Israel of genocide.
DETROW: When it comes to Turkey and Israel, there's many years of context here. Can you tell us a little more about what relations have been like between Israel and Turkey since the start of the war in Gaza?
SARACOGLU: Yeah. Well, Turkey has already taken a number of steps against Israel for the war in Gaza. Like, Turkish Airlines stopped flights to Israel in October, just after the start of the war. And in May, Turkey also suspended all trade with Israel. I mean, that is worth $7 billion a year. And then in July, President Erdogan said in a speech that Turkey could even launch some kind of military intervention, although he gave no details.
Well, this tension dates back to 2010, when a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid and activists sailed from Turkey toward Gaza. Israeli forces boarded the ships, which had been trying to break a land and sea blockade on Gaza, and killed 10 people. Nine of them were Turkish.
DETROW: That's Gokce Saracoglu in Istanbul. Thank you so much.
SARACOGLU: Thank you. Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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