American Air Force Member Who Lit Himself on Fire in Solidarity with Palestine, Dies of Burns
An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force succumbed to his wounds after he set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. He self-immolated in solidarity with Palestine after saying that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.”
The Pro-Palestine Airman Aaron Bushnell, hailed from San Antonio, Texas and died at the age of 25 from the injuries he sustained after setting himself ablaze as an act of protest against the ongoing US-backed Israeli aggression on the Palestinians.
Bushnell reportedly stationed himself at the embassy on Sunday Feb. 25 at noon, and live streamed himself on the platform, Twitch, before quickly drowning in flames. Before self-immolating, he vehemently declared he would no longer be complicit in genocide, allegedly referring to the US government’s heavy involvement in Israel’s brutal war against Palestine. On fire, Bushnell could be heard screaming “Free Palestine” before eventually going quiet. The video was later removed by the platform.
In a statement, the Air Force said, “The individual involved in yesterday’s incident succumbed to his injuries and passed away last night.”
The incident occured after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought the cabinet approval for a military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, adjacent to the Egyptian borders where more than a million Palestinians are crammed together after being displaced multiple times by the Israeli regime, who initially claimed Rafah as a safe zone.
Following the fatal incident, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine expressed its full solidarity with Aaron Bushnell, his family and with all the American sympathizers.
“The act of an American soldier sacrificing himself for Palestine is the highest sacrifice and a medal, and a poignant message to the American administration to stop its involvement in the aggression” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said.
“Palestine will be victorious as long as it has deeply engraved itself in the conscience and consciences of the world, and history will record in golden letters the names of all the sympathizers and free people of the world who stood with it and sacrificed their lives for its sake” they added.
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