Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Hamas says US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington will “remain immortal” because of his shocking anti-war protest.
Footage of the self-immolation was shared widely online, and the militant group said it was “an expression of growing anger among the American people” over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The war was sparked by a surprise attack by Palestinian militant groups on October 7 in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an official tally AFP.
The Israeli military launched a devastating response, aimed at crushing Hamas, which in less than five months has killed nearly 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
“The airman will remain eternal in the memory of the Palestinian people and the free peoples of the world, and a symbol of the spirit of global humanitarian solidarity towards our people and their struggle,” Hamas said in a statement issued in English, quoted by AFP, Wednesday (28/2 /2024).
In footage of Sunday's protest, Bushnell, wearing a military uniform, declared he “will not engage in genocide” before dousing himself with liquid, setting himself on fire and shouting “Free Palestine!” until he fainted.
Some members of US President Joe Biden's Democratic Party are trying to pressure him to support Israel, with Arab-American voters in Michigan pledging to vote “no commitment” or write in “Free Palestine” on their ballots in the state's primary election on Tuesday.
The White House has tried to assuage the concerns of Arab and Muslim voters by portraying the president as frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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This is the initial chronology of the long Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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