JERUSALEM: Hamas declared on Tuesday that a US airman who perished outside the Israeli embassy in Washington after lighting himself on fire will “remain immortal” for his startling anti-war demonstration.
The group said that the self-immolation video was “an expression of the rising state of outrage among the American people” over the Israeli attack in Gaza, and the video went viral on the internet. In an English-language statement, Hamas stated that the airman “will remain everlasting in the hearts and minds of our Palestinian citizens and those who are free of the entire globe, and as an example of a sense of worldwide compassion with the Palestinians and their just cause.”
The man wearing military fatigues is seen in the video of the protest on Sunday stating that he will “not be complicit in genocide” before throwing liquid on himself, setting himself on fire, and shouting “Free Palestine!” until he passes out. The news of his passing broke on Monday.
Arab American voters in Michigan are committing to vote “uncommitted” or write “Free Palestine” on their ballots in the state’s primary on Tuesday, in an attempt to put pressure on US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party to back Israel.
Part of the White House’s attempt to allay the fears of Arab and Muslim voters has been to depict the president as dissatisfied with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.
