Burning indignation: Another wheelchair-bound Israeli veteran sets himself ablaze

Published: 22 July, 2012, 19:16

A disabled Israeli Defense Forces veteran has self-immolated, sustaining burns to 80 per cent of his body. The incident follows the death of IDF veteran Moshe Silman, who sparked a series of similar protests by setting himself ablaze last week.

­Around noon, people at a bus stop near the central city of Yehud saw a man in a wheel-chair take out a bottle and start soaking himself with its contents.

"I immediately understood that it was gasoline and not water," Mahmoud Gdir, an eyewitness, told Agence France Presse. "I saw him holding a lighter and pleaded with him not to do it, but he did. I ran to my car to get a small fire extinguisher. It lasted about 2-10 seconds."

The disabled man, aged 45, was later recognized as an IDF veteran. Sustaining massive burns, he was rushed to a hospital where he was induced into a coma and put on life support.

The Disabled IDF Veterans' Association says financial woes compelled the veteran to take the desperate measure.

FULL STORY: http://www.rt.com/news/israel-another-veteran-fire-795/