NEW DELHI: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris  condemned the killing of an American activist by the Israeli military in the West Bank, describing it as "unacceptable." They urged Israel to take more steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Israel has acknowledged its role in the death of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed during a protest against the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Biden emphasised that the US government expects ongoing access to the investigation into the shooting.

“There must be full accountability. And Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again,” Biden said in a statement. Vice President Harris also expressed concern, stating that no one should lose their life for participating in peaceful protests.

"The shooting that led to her death is unacceptable and raises legitimate questions about the conduct of IDF (Israel Defense Forces) personnel in the West Bank," Harris said.

Eygi, who was also a Turkish citizen, was fatally shot on Friday during a protest in Beita, a village near Nablus. This area has seen multiple attacks by far-right Jewish settlers. Israeli authorities have claimed her death was unintentional.

Eygi's family has called on Biden and Harris to speak directly with them and initiate an independent investigation into the incident.

Calling the death an "accident" amounts to complicity in " the Israeli military’s agenda to take Palestinian land and whitewash the killing of an American," the family said in a statement. "Let us be clear, an American citizen was killed by a foreign military in a targeted attack."

Democratic Senator Patty Murray and Representative Pramila Jayapal also wrote to Biden, urging him to launch an "immediate, transparent, credible and thorough" independent investigation by the US into the matter.

For several months, the US, Egypt, and Qatar have been involved in talks to end the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, which will mark one year on October 7. Despite a brief ceasefire in November last year, these efforts have yet to result in a lasting truce.