Police stop man from setting himself on fire in Holon

A 40-year-old man threatened to light himself on fire at a branch of Bank Leumi in Holon Tuesday morning, but was prevented from doing so by police officers who were called to the scene.

The man entered the bank carrying a bottle full of flammable liquid and threatened to torch himself due to his inability to pay back debts. Police subdued him and took him into custody for questioning.

The incident is the third self-torching attempt since social activist Moshe Silman set himself on fire at a protest in Tel Aviv Saturday night. Silman is still in critical condition with third degree burns covering 94% of his body.

On Monday, a man tried to set himself on fire at the entrance of the Beersheba municipality building. The man, who is known to the welfare services, was not injured in the incident as a security guard and passersby at the scene prevented him from starting the fire. The man was taken into police custody.

On Sunday, Ynet reported, a man entered a branch of the Orange cellphone company in Petah Tikva with a bottle of flammable liquid and threatened to set himself ablaze in protest over a bill for NIS 20,000. Security guards overpowered the man before he could carry out his threat and held him until police arrived.