Washington
Protest against Middle East conflict: US fighter pilot sets himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy
The US Air Force fighter pilot is currently in the hospital (symbolic image)
© Jens Büttner / DPA
The protests against the war in the Gaza Strip are reaching a new dimension. A US fighter pilot sets himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy – he no longer wants to take part in a “genocide”.
A US Air Force pilot took refuge in protest against the war Gaza Strip set on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington. “I will no longer participate in genocide,” the man in military uniform said in a live Internet broadcast, according to the New York Times newspaper. He then doused himself with a clear liquid, set himself on fire and shouted “Freedom for Palestine.”
The man was taken to a local hospital after U.S. Secret Service officials extinguished the fire, the fire department said. The man’s condition remains critical, a police spokesman said. An Air Force spokesman confirmed that the victim was an active-duty soldier. The local police and secret service are investigating the incident.
Repeated protests in front of the Israeli embassy
The Israeli embassy has been the target of ongoing protests since the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas on October 7 and the Israeli counterattacks in the Gaza Strip. In December, a protester set herself on fire in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.
The Gaza war began on October 7th with the unprecedented major attack on Israel by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas. According to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were killed and around 250 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has since taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip, with the declared aim of destroying Hamas. According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 29,690 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then.