New York, Feb. 26, (tca/dpa/GNA) – A man set himself on fire outside Israel’s embassy in Washington, DC, on Sunday afternoon in an apparent act of protest.
The person was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. No one else was harmed in the incident, Israel’s foreign ministry told The Times of Israel. The demonstrator was not immediately identified.
First responders arrived on the scene around 1 pm [1800 GMT], according to DC Fire and EMS [emergency medical services]. Secret Service members extinguished the blaze and the man was rushed to a local hospital.
Investigators searched the man’s vehicle “as a precaution,” a Secret Service spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times. Several first responders were seen outside the embassy.
It is the second time someone has set themself on fire outside an Israeli building in the US during Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. On December 1, a woman self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta [in the US state of Georgia]. A security guard there was injured as he tried to stop her from harming herself. A Palestinian flag was reportedly found on the ground.
GNA