Aysenur Ezgi Eygi will be buried in her family's hometown of Didim in western Turkey.
Mourners in Turkey have gathered for funeral prayers ahead of the burial of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank.
The murder of 26-year-old Eygi last week sparked international condemnation of Israel. He was shot in the head on September 6 while taking part in a demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements.
On Saturday, family, friends and supporters gathered in Eygi's hometown of Didim in western Turkey.
Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Didim, said that for days, Eygi's family had been receiving visitors from Turkey, the United States and other parts of the world, as they awaited the arrival of his remains.
“You can see the disbelief on their faces at Aysenur’s disappearance,” Serdar said, noting that her death has united both the secular and religious sectors of Turkey.
“Strong security measures are also being taken” to ensure the safety of the funeral, which is expected to be attended by several senior Turkish and American officials, Serdar added.
Eygi's coffin was flown to the Aegean coastal city on Saturday following a martyrdom ceremony at Istanbul airport on Friday.
She was a frequent visitor to Didim, and her family said they wanted her to be buried there, where her grandfather lives and her grandmother is buried.
Eygi's mother, Rabia Birden, on Friday urged Turkish officials to seek justice.
“All I ask of our state is to seek justice for my daughter,” she told Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.
'Deliberately attacked'
Turkey said this week it was investigating his death and pressed the United Nations to conduct an independent inquiry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to ensure that “the death of Aysenur Ezgi does not go unpunished.”
US President Joe Biden has called on Israel to take “full responsibility” for Eygi’s death.
The Israeli military said Eygi was likely targeted “unintentionally” by forces responding to a “violent disturbance” in Beita, near Nablus.
But there is growing evidence to contradict this theory, with witnesses claiming that Israeli soldiers deliberately killed her.
Among the witnesses to her murder was an Italian activist who travelled with Eygi in the ambulance when she was taken to Beita and then to Nablus, where she was declared dead.
“We were clearly visible to the army, nothing was happening around us… it was a shootout to kill,” said the Italian activist.
Eygi's family called on the United States to launch an independent investigation into his killing, saying an Israeli probe was “inappropriate.”
The United Nations said Eygi had been taking part in a “peaceful protest against settlements” in Beita, the scene of weekly demonstrations, when she was killed.
Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a group that has been protesting against Israel's occupation, and arrived in the West Bank a few days before he died.
