He could have timed this better, or at least not killed the only troop I'm aware of that's willing to die for Palestine.

Yes? The protests which started because of his self-immolation are what grew into the President fleeing the country.

Obviously it's complicated, there were underlying issues and the context surround his self-immolation matters and such, but I'm not sure how you can dismiss his final act. His individual act amounted to something.