Man in wheelchair sets himself on fire!

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.
"The bodies that are supposed to
support him, i.e. the Defense Ministry
and National Insurance Institute have
failed him,” the organization’s
spokesman told Ynet News. “I'm afraid
over 50,000 IDF veterans share his
frustration."
The self immolation took place hours
before the funeral of Moshe Silman, an
IDF veteran who died on Friday of
injuries he received during a massive
demonstration staged the previous
week. Silman set himself ablaze and
suffered third-degree burns to over 95
per cent of his body.
In a letter which Silman read out before
setting himself alight, he accused the
Israeli establishment of "taking from the
poor and giving to the rich." He also said
that despite being incapable of working
due to a stroke, a housing ministry
committee did not find him eligible for
public housing benefits.
Since then, at least five more self-
immolation cases have been reported in
Israel, with Sunday’s incident being the
most serious since Silma.
Before the funeral, Silman’s family called
on others not to mimic his desperate act.
"What he did was grim and the family
does not condone it – he was expressing
his own unmet pain,” the Silmans said
in a letter. “We urge the government to
consider this horrifying case and do
everything within its power to help
Israelis who are in need of (financial)
assistance."