A 26-year-old American woman has been shot dead in the occupied West Bank during a protest.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was born in Turkey, is reported to have been taking part in a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita near Nablus.

Ms Ezgi Eygi was allegedly shot by Israeli troops, according to local media reports. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them” in the Beita area.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington is “urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death and will have more to say as we learn more”.

Mr Miller also offered his “deepest condolences” to Ms Ezgi Eygi’s family and loved ones.

His comments were echoed by US ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, who said Washington has “no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens”.

The American activist was rushed to a hospital in Nablus with a gunshot to the head and was later pronounced dead, AFP news agency reported.

Dr Fouad Naffa, head of the hospital to which Ms Ezgi Eygi was admitted, confirmed that a US citizen in her mid-20s died from a “gunshot in the head”.

In a statement, the IDF said it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area”.

“The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review,” the Israeli military added.

According to reports by Palestinian media, the 26-year-old had been involved in a campaign to protect farmers from Israeli settler violence.

Ms Ezgi Eygi was both American and Turkish, having been born in Antalya, as reported by Turkish media.

In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry described her death as “murder”, adding that Ms Ezgi Eygi was “killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in the city of Nablus”.

It comes after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin city and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, following a major nine-day operation there.

During the operation, at least 36 Palestinians were killed – 21 from Jenin governorate – the Palestinian health ministry says. Most of the dead have been claimed by armed groups as members, but the ministry says children are also among those killed.

In the past 50 years, Israel has built settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where more than 700,000 Jews now live.

Settlements are held to be illegal under international law – that is the position of the UN Security Council and the UK government, among others – although Israel rejects this. (BBC: Text, Excluding Headline)

Update news