Fatigues-clad Man Sets Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy in D.C.

By Al Mayadeen English

The event has caught the attention of many on social media platforms with posts indicating that he is a former US Air Force soldier.

A man is in critical condition after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., local Fire and Emergency Services (FEMS) confirmed to The Daily Beast.

D.C. FEMS responded to a call about a person on fire just before 1 pm on Sunday. “We arrived to find an apparent adult male who had been on fire,” Vito Maggiolo, the FEMS public information officer, said, adding that US Secret Service members had extinguished it.

The man was rushed to a local hospital to be treated for “critical life-threatening injuries.”

Commenting on the incident, the Israeli Foreign Ministry released a statement confirming that an individual set himself on fire near the Israeli embassy in Washington.

The statement further noted that the individual involved was not previously familiar with the embassy before the self-immolation incident.

The event has caught the attention of many on social media platforms with posts indicating that a former US Air Force Soldier in uniform reportedly set himself ablaze outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington to protest the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Social media users circulated news that the individual, wearing fatigues, introduced himself as “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force."

" I will no longer be complicit in genocide," he reportedly said.

After setting himself on fire, he reportedly repeatedly yelled, “Free Palestine".

This incident has sparked conversations and responses online increasing the exposure of this act of self-immolation as a form of protest.

This incident appears to be the second self-immolation outside an Israeli embassy in the United States. A similar incident occurred in December when a protester self-immolated at the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. Authorities discovered a Palestinian flag near the consulate, which is an essential part of protests against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.