" Free Palestine ." These are the words allegedly spoken by the attacker who threw Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel march in Colorado yesterday afternoon. Six people were injured, all between the ages of 67 and 88. The alleged perpetrator has been arrested: Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old man, who was armed with a "homemade flamethrower and an incendiary device," as reported by the police.

The FBI has called the attack a "targeted terrorist attack " against a Jewish community march in Boulder, which seeks to raise awareness on the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. In a video posted on social media, a man with a bare torso can be seen, agitated, holding two flaming bottles and appearing to shout "Free Palestine." US networks have already broadcast some scenes immediately following the attack , with the intervention of first responders, who used flags to put out the flames on the bodies of those affected. The local police chief, Stephen Redfearn, said in a press conference that "it is irresponsible to speculate now on the motive" of the act and that for now he will not call it a terrorist attack. But the head of the Bureau, Kash Patel, has already given the line at the federal level and the Department of Justice has promised to pursue those responsible "with the utmost rigor."

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been informed of the attack. The Boulder Jewish community said it was "saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at participants in the Run for Their Lives march on Pearl Street, while they were raising awareness about the hostages still being held in Gaza," while Colorado's Democratic governor Jared Polis called it a "heinous act of terrorism." The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions in the United States over Israel's war on Gaza, which has led to both a rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes and a campaign by conservative supporters of Israel, led by Trump, against pro-Palestinian protests (which they branded as anti-Semitic) on college campuses.

(Unioneonline/vf)

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