Washington Lawmakers Call for Probe Into Killing of Seattle Activist — Without Saying Who Fired

The Washington State Senate passed Senate Joint Memorial 8014, formally urging the Federal government to investigate the death of Seattle resident Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank in the fall of 2024. Ezgi Eygi's family and supporters worked with lawmakers to adjust the language of the resolution multiple times, hoping for bipartisan support for what should be an uncontroversial issue. Even so, 17 Republicans still voted “no” and two Democrats, Sens. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) and Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island), excused themselves from the vote. 

Seattleites will remember when news broke September 6, 2024 that an Israeli sniper shot and killed recent University of Washington graduate Ezgi Eygi while she was serving as a human rights observer at a protest against settlement expansion near Nablus in the West Bank. Her tragic story reminded many Washingtonian's of the tragic death of Olympia resident Rachel Corrie who was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003.

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña (D-Seattle) said at the floor debate earlier this week, "Ayşenur is not a headline we can simply move past."

Last year, Ezgi Eygi’s family, friends and other supporters lobbied the State House for a resolution honoring her life. And in 2026, they came back to push the legislature to formally call on the Federal government to launch an investigation in SJM 8014 and its companion HJM 4010. Corrie's family, who never got accountability for their own daughter's killing, joined them in these efforts.

A large portion of SJM 8014 commemorates Ezgi Eygi’s activism and draws a connection between her and Corrie. But the resolution seemed to get too controversial for some lawmakers when it described Ezgi Eygi's killing, prompting two public rounds of edits.

The first version said Ezgi Eygi was “unprovokedly shot by an Israeli military sniper while peacefully observing the illegal displacement of Indigenous Palestinians from their homes to make way for an Israeli settlement, an act of profound bravery and selflessness.”

The Law & Justice committee adopted a substitute version last month that read “according to eye witnesses, she was unprovokedly shot by an Israeli military sniper while bravely and peacefully observing the illegal displacement of Palestinians from their homes to make way for an Israeli settlement.”

Finally, Saldaña, the resolution's sponsor, changed the text in a striker amendment on the floor. Of her killing, the final version said "she was shot and killed while courageously observing the forceful displacement of Palestinians from their homes to make way for an Israeli settlement.”

Additionally, the second and third version said she was killed in the West Bank, not “West Bank, Palestine” as described in the original. 

Ahead of the floor vote, Saldaña said the striker “perfects” the language so that it both honored Ezgi Eygi and the “diversity” of the Senate. Sen. Keith Wagoner (R-Sedro Woolley), one of just two Republicans to approve SJM 8014, thanked Saldaña for working with him to “improve the tone.”

Perhaps the resolution would not have passed without these specific edits. But still, cutting out descriptions like "illegal settlements" and "Indigenous Palestinians" are not nuetral. And even beyond the larger conversation about Palestine, the latest version removes broadly agreed upon details of Ezgi Eygi's killing.

The approved version skips what was reported as fact in every credible news site: An Israeli sniper killed Ezgi Eygi. Even the IDF admits it's "highly likely" one of its troops shot and killed Ezgi Eygi, though they claim the sniper intended to shoot someone else. The Senate's final language also no longer describes the shooting as "unprovoked," a description that Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed with. Again, even Israel seemed to concede Ezgi Eygi had not provoked her killer, claiming the sniper was aiming elsewhere.

Ozden Bennett, Ezgi Eygi's sister who has worked tirelessly to advocate for accountability, told The Burner that supporters worked with Wagoner on the language changes in effort to "find compromises that would lead to bipartisan support."

"[We] were disappointed to see that the Republican caucus ultimately largely voted against the bill," Bennett said in a message to The Burner.

All but two Republicans — Wagoner and Paul Harris (R-Vancouver) — voted "no." No Republican explained their opposition on the floor.

Ahead of the vote, Salomon and Wellman excused themselves. They did not respond to The Burner’s request for comment about their decision to skip the vote.

Bennett told The Burner supporters were " surprised" to see Salomon excused himself.

"He voted yes to push it out of the Senate Committee hearing, and didn’t voice any concerns when we asked him directly if there were any changes he would like to see," Bennett said.

It is not unreasonable to expect the United States government to investigate the killing of one of its citizens by a foreign military.

For example, after U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the 2012 attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the FBI launched a criminal investigation, and multiple congressional and State Department inquiries were conducted. In 2018, the murder of journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul prompted the CIA and Congress to assess Saudi involvement and ultimately led to sanctions on individuals connected to his death. Similarly, when American college student Otto Warmbier returned from North Korea in a coma and subsequently died, the State Department and intelligence agencies investigated the circumstances of his detention and treatment, and his family pursued legal action against the North Korean government.

These cases illustrate that when Americans are killed abroad — whether in conflict zones, by foreign authorities, or in politically charged incidents — the federal government typically undertakes some form of investigation. But Washington lawmakers who voted "no" perpetuate the reality that Israel gets to play by different rules.

Wagoner acknowledged that "it's difficult, maybe impossible" to "separate these tragedies... from the political overtones, the international overtones, the religious overtones." But he approved SJM 8014 because at its core, it was about families looking for answers.