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The family of the Turkish-American activist killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank have demanded the Biden administration launch an independent criminal investigation during a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to the BBC.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was shot in the head by Israeli forces while participating in a demonstration near Nablus in September. The killing drew condemnation from across the Arab world but was met with a muted response in Washington.

The family is "not optimistic" that Israel will be held accountable, Eygi's husband Hamid Ali told the British broadcaster following the meeting.

"He was very deferential to the Israelis…It felt like he was saying his hands were tied and they weren’t able to really do much," he said.

The State Department would not investigate the incident itself and was waiting for Israel to complete its own probe, spokesperson Matt Miller said in a press briefing on Monday.

The Israeli military has claimed that Eygi was "unintentionally" killed after its soldiers shot at a Palestinian in self-defence though this has been contradicted by video evidence and eyewitness reports which suggest she was deliberately targeted.

Israel is expected to conclude its investigation in the coming weeks.

Following the meeting, her family reiterated their demands for justice at a vigil outside the White House alongside Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who condemned the administration for its inaction.

“We know that President Biden recently said ‘If you harm an American, we will respond.’ But his inaction has made it clear once again that when it comes to the Israeli government murdering Americans, it's a complete lie,” she said at the event in Lafayette Square.

Eygi was volunteering with the pro-Palestine activist group the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and was attending a demonstration in the village of Beita when she was killed.

The ISM said she was the 18th protester to be killed by Israeli forces in the village since 2020.