SEATTLE — The family of 26-year-old Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi held a memorial service at the University of Washington on Friday night, surrounded by hundreds of people, to commemorate her life.

Israeli soldiers shot Eygi in September while he was participating in a weekly demonstration against settlement expansion, witnesses told The Associated Press.

UW Professor Aria Fani told KOMO News that Eygi graduated from the university in June and was studying psychology and Middle Eastern languages ​​and cultures. He described Eygi as a good-hearted and extremely curious person.

MORE MERecent University of Washington graduate killed during West Bank protest

Her husband, Hamid Ali, spoke to KOMO News on Friday night about his wife’s death.

“It’s a bittersweet thing,” he said. “We are all here for a painful reason, but it is encouraging to see so many people from the community come and remember it.”

On her 26th birthday, friends gathered for a bonfire at one of her favorite places, a sandy beach in Seattle where green-and-white ferries cruise the dark, flat waters and ospreys are dotted.

After learning that Eygi had been killed by IDF forces in the West Bank, Ali and the rest of the family made phone calls to friends oceans away to tell them what had happened. He coordinated the delivery of Eygi’s body to Turkey.

Eygi, who was also a Turkish citizen, was killed while demonstrating against settlements in the West Bank. Israeli protester Jonathan Pollak, who was there, said he posed no threat to Israeli forces and that the shooting occurred during a calm moment after a clash between stone-throwing protesters and Israeli soldiers who used tear gas and bullets.

The Israeli military said Eygi was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by its own soldiers, drawing criticism from American officials including President Joe Biden, who said he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by his killing.

“There must be full accountability,” Biden said in a statement. “And Israel needs to do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.”

Many attendees wore traditional checkered scarves (keffiyeh) and carried photos of Eygi on her graduation cap to support the Palestinian cause.

Eygi, who attended Seattle schools and graduated this year with a degree in psychology from the University of Washington, helped negotiate with the administration on behalf of protesters at the camp, part of a broader campus movement against the Gaza war.