Oakland vigil for U.S. Turkish citizen killed in West Bank
OAKLAND, Calif. - A vigil was held in Oakland on Monday to remember a U.S. Turkish citizen, allegedly killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank last week.
The large crowd, who gathered at Lake Merritt, also honored the lives of Palestinian civilians killed in the Israel-Hamas war.
Aysenur Eygi was demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the West Bank when she was shot and killed.
"She was doing the right thing to stand up for Palestinians," said a woman attending the vigil.
Organizers of Monday's vigil called for an end to the bloodshed.
"Being here since Eysenur Eygi was murdered, many of us haven’t been able to sleep at all. We’ve been organizing around the clock," said Yonana Tchoueba, a co-organizer of the vigil.
The White House said Aysenur was a recent graduate of the University of Washington, and called on Israel to investigate what happened. Those attending the vigil said they would continue to organize until the US does more.
"We feel we need to take it upon ourselves to step in, and do whatever we can, and we’re going to continue to do that," said a vigil attendee.
According to Palestinian health officials, more than 690 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began.