A Washington Post investigation debunks Israel’s account of the Israeli military’s shooting death of Aisha Noor Ize-Iji, a 26-year-old American activist who was killed in the occupied West Bank on September 6.

Aisha Nour was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper during a protest against illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank village of Beita organised by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The Israeli military said it was “highly likely” that one of its soldiers shot Aisha Nour but claimed the shot to the head was “unintentional” and that the real target was the “main instigator” of an ongoing riot.

But the newspaper’s investigation, based on videos, photos and eyewitness accounts, found that the Turkish-American activist was shot more than half an hour after Israeli soldiers confronted the protesters and 20 minutes after the demonstrators had moved onto the road and were more than 200 yards from the Israeli forces, a distance at which they could not pose any threat.

The shooting took place near a Jewish settlement, known as the Evyatar outpost, which was first built in 2021 and recently received Israeli government approval. Palestinian residents of the area near the outpost gather on Fridays for weekly prayers as an act of protest.

Hisham Dweikat, a local resident and member of the Palestinian National Council, told the newspaper that the Israeli army had started coming to the area to disperse the prayers. “They suppress us with tear gas and bullets, but the activities continued,” Dweikat said.

On September 6, the day Aisha Nour was shot, the Israeli military confronted Palestinian residents and used tear gas and live ammunition, according to eyewitnesses. The newspaper said images showed some protesters throwing stones at Israeli forces.

Aisha Nour, who was attending her first protest in the West Bank, immediately ran to hide in an olive grove when the violence began. She was shot after 20 minutes of calm, with Israeli soldiers more than 200 yards away from the protesters. A Palestinian teenager, who was about 20 yards away from Iggy, was also hit by Israeli gunfire.

The newspaper said the Israeli military did not respond to questions about the incident. When Israel first said its forces had shot Iggy “accidentally,” President Biden backed the claim. “It appears to have been an accident — it ricocheted off the ground, and I was hit accidentally. I’m working on that now,” he said.

Biden later issued a statement saying he was "outraged" by Iji's killing but repeated the Israeli claim and did not indicate that the United States would launch its own investigation.

“Israel has acknowledged responsibility for Aisha Noor’s death, and an initial investigation has determined that it was the result of a tragic mistake resulting from an unnecessary escalation,” Biden said. “The U.S. government has had full access to Israel’s initial investigation, and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the outcome.”