US Air Force Officer Sets Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy, Shouting "Free Palestine"
Washington DC: In an incident which occured on Sunday afternoon, an American Air Force officer set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington. The officer is currently hospitalized in critical condition.
Times of India has reported that the officer arrived near the Israeli embassy at around 1 am and started a live stream on Twitch.
He then doused himself with fuel and set himself on fire, stating, “I will no longer continue to be a part of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I am going to take extreme action as part of the protest,” while shouting “Free Palestine.”
The disturbing video has been deleted from the Twitch platform.
He sustained severe burn injuries and was rescued by the US Secret Service, DC Fire, and EMS.
The Israeli Embassy issued a statement saying, "A man set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.”
The identity of the officer has not been released, but he is based in Texas, as per his LinkedIn profile.
US officials have not commented on the incident.
The death toll in Gaza continues to rise as Israeli forces continue their attacks. These attacks have resulted in numerous casualties, including civilians, raising concerns about the humanitarian crisis in the region sparking protests across the world against Israel's alleged genocide of Palestinian people.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
