Speaking to reporters, Biden said the killing of 26-year-old human rights activist Aysenur Eygi—a recent graduate of the University of Washington—was "apparently an accident," adding that the bullet that struck her in the head "ricocheted off the ground."
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) denounced Biden's statement as "unacceptable" and "outrageous."
"We cannot simply accept the IDF's version that this was an 'accident,'" said Jayapal. "We do not know that, it's why we need an independent investigation. What accountability will there be when we keep supplying the weapons against our own laws?"
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in response to Biden's remarks that "if you are an American, your president not only provides Israel with the bullets that Israel uses to kill you."
"Not only does he not object after Israel has killed you," he continued. "Much worse, he even comes up with insulting excuses to exonerate Israel for murdering you."
The U.S. president's comments mirrored a statement issued earlier Tuesday by the IDF, which said its internal inquiry "found that it is highly likely" that Eygi "was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her" but at another demonstrator whom the Israeli military described as "the key instigator" of a "riot."