Life & Culture

_When peaceful protests around the world failed to sway Western leaders, Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the United States Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC to protest the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression and genocide against Gaza, Palestine.

In the harrowing video, Bushnell first identifies himself by name, then shouts, "I will no longer be involved in genocide." He repeatedly shouts "Free Palestine" while burning.

A US Air Force spokesperson confirmed the incident to CNN. Bushnell was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

The local fire department said a man called to report the fire in front of the Israeli embassy at 1 p.m. However, the fire was extinguished by the Secret Service before the rescue team arrived.

Bushnell himself streamed the entire scene on live-streaming platform Twitch, though it was later removed from the website. The Israeli embassy in Washington said no staff were injured or killed in the incident.

Over the past 70 years, Israel has made life miserable for Palestinians by forcibly evicting them from various parts of Palestine, such as Gaza, the West Bank, etc., with illegal settlements.

In many countries of the world, even in the largest Western countries, small or large-scale protests are constantly being organized to protest the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Many of these protesters are being arrested. However, no effective steps are being taken to stop the genocide.

Peaceful protests have been going on there for quite some time, protesting the direct support and financial assistance of the US in this genocide. And in the continuation of all this, Aaron Bushnell's self-sacrifice.

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