EXTREME PROTEST. Police take security measures and investigate the crime scene after a man set himself alight in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, United States on Sunday (Feb. 25, 2024). The man was subsequently referred to a regional hospital in critical condition due to serious injuries. (Anadolu)
WASHINGTON – An active-duty member of the US Air Force set himself on fire Sunday outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. in protest against the war in Gaza, according to multiple reports.
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest but, compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal,” 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell said prior to setting himself on fire.
Footage showing the protest and the moment when Bushnell set himself on fire went viral on social media.
The fire was extinguished by Secret Service personnel and Bushnell was subsequently rushed to the hospital due to "critical life-threatening injuries," said the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.
Multiple reports citing the live streaming of the incident said the man shouted "Free Palestine" as he burned.
The Washington Post cited a spokeswoman for the Air Force, Rose M. Riley, as confirming that "an active duty airman was involved in today’s incident.”
An investigation remains underway, according to authorities.
In December 2023, a person set themself on fire outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia in protest against Israel over its attacks in Gaza.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing more than 29,690 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed. (Anadolu)
