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A man is in critical condition after setting himself on fire at the Israeli embassy in the US capital Washington DC. The US Air Force soldier allegedly wanted to protest against the war in the Gaza Strip and shouted “Free Palestine”.
Source: BELGA, Fox, CBS, CNN Today at 07:38
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon (local time). Members of the US Secret Service extinguished fire on the man after about a minute. He was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The man livestreamed a video on the online platform Twitch. According to various media, it showed a man in uniform saying his name was Aaron Bushnell, stating that he was a member of the US Air Force and would “no longer be complicit in genocide”. He said he was about to stage “an extreme form of protest” but that this is nothing compared to the suffering of the Palestinians. While on fire, he repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.”
“I can confirm that an active duty Air Force soldier was involved in today’s incident,” US Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told Fox News and CNN.