Palestinian town names street after US soldier who set himself on fire

Aaron Bushnell ‘sacrificed everything’ for Palestinians, the mayor of Jericho says

A West Bank city has renamed a road after the US soldier who self-immolated in protest against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

On Sunday the mayor of Jericho revealed a new sign for Aaron Bushnell St in front of a small gathering of people. Bushnell, a serving member of the US Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington last month in protest against American support for its ally Israel in the Gaza conflict, saying he could “no longer be complicit in genocide”.

Bushnell “sacrificed everything” for the Palestinians, said Jericho mayor Abdul Karim Sidr.

“We didn’t know him, and he didn’t know us. There were no social, economic or political ties between us. What we share is a love for freedom and a desire to stand against these attacks [on Gaza],” he said.

Amani Rayan, a Jericho city council member, was quoted as saying by the Guardian: “He [Bushnell] sacrificed the most precious thing, whatever your beliefs. This man gave all his privileges for the children of Gaza.

“[Bushnell] wanted to light a strong spark, to reignite our cause,” he added.

A man holds up a photo of late US airman Aaron Bushnell, who died of his injuries after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC (EPA)

Twenty-five-year-old Bushnell of Whitman, Massachusetts, filmed his protest last month and live-streamed it onto the social media platform Twitch. Although Secret Service officials stationed outside the embassy successfully extinguished the fire that engulfed Bushnell, he suffered life-threatening injuries and later died at a local hospital.

He repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine!” as he burned.

The US has provided a range of military and financial support to Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East, since it began a ground offensive into Gaza City in October last year. The assault was triggered by the 7 October attack by Hamas on southern Israel that saw some 1,200 Israelis killed and hundreds of hostages captured, after which Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy the militant group.

Local health officials says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the four-and-a-half months since Israel’s ground offensive began, with much of the Gaza Strip razed to the ground and hundreds of thousands of people pushed to the brink of starvation. The US has become increasingly critical of its ally as the conflict has dragged on and said it hoped for a new ceasefire by Ramadan, which began on Sunday night with no end to hostilities in sight.

Al Jazeera reported that on Monday Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza continued, resulting in the death of at least 10 in Gaza City and another three casualties in southern Rafah.

During an interview on MSNBC that was aired on Sunday, US president Joe Biden gave his strongest criticism yet of Mr Netanyahu, saying his indifference to “innocent lives” was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”. He said that a ground invasion of Rafah would cross a red line, yet also stated he would “never leave Israel” behind.

Mr Biden warned Mr Netanyahu “cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after [Hamas]”.