Dear Friends,
Last week brought the horrific news that American peace advocate Aysenur Ezgi Eygi – just 26 years old – had been killed in the West Bank amid IDF fire toward a group of protesters.
For months, security experts and human rights groups in Israel and beyond have warned that increased settler violence, loose rules of engagement and a lack of accountability were putting civilians in danger. The stories have been heartbreaking. A 13-year-old shot as Israeli settlers stormed her village. A 16-year-old girl killed by an Israeli sniper as she looked outside her window during a military operation.
As a former IDF officer myself, I’m deeply distressed by these events. We put on the uniform to defend Israel, but we also have a responsibility to keep everyone safe – innocent Israelis and Palestinians alike. And rather than decreasing the threat of terror attacks, these incidents inflame tensions and make an impossible job harder still.
Extremism is on the rise across the region, including the West Bank. Just this week, three Israeli soldiers were killed by a Jordanian gunman on the border. Yesterday, a young soldier was killed in a truck ramming outside a settlement near Ramallah. We cannot continue down this path.
President Biden has said that Aysenur’s death was “totally unacceptable.” Vice President Harris has said it “raises legitimate questions” about IDF conduct. Secretary Blinken has rightly called for “fundamental changes… including changes to their rules of engagement.”
I can only agree. But with Netanyahu and his right-wing allies at the helm of the Israeli government, it will take real US pressure to make these changes happen on the ground.
Friends: Can you sign J Street’s petition to President Biden calling for a change of course?
President Biden: Protect Civilians in the West Bank
Add your name now ✍️
The situation in the West Bank has gone from bad to worse since the horror of October 7.
This is in no small part because Netanyahu’s most extreme ministers – Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir – have been inciting violence against Palestinians and making clear that they will use their positions to ensure neither settlers nor soldiers are held to account.
Their clearly stated goal is to push Palestinians from their land and cement permanent, undemocratic control over the West Bank – and they seem not to care how many are hurt or killed in the process.
The result has been a death toll of more than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to UN observers, the majority killed by live ammunition fired by the IDF. It’s a number that includes far too many civilians and far too many children, a deeply painful violation of our values.
None of this makes Israelis any safer – quite the opposite. Violence begets more violence. Retaliation begets more retaliation. We have to say enough is enough.
President Biden is right to be outraged over the tragedy of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi’s death, but he also needs to make clear that something has to change.
Friends, please take a moment to add your name to our petition to President Biden now >>
Thank you, sincerely, for your support.
Nadav Tamir
Executive Director, J Street Israel
