Man sets himself on fire near Yehud gas station

A man set himself on fire Sunday near a gas station in Yehud in central Israel.

Akiva Mapay , a 50-year-old resident of Bareket, is in critical condition, suffering from severe burns over 80 percent of his body. Paramedics arrived on the scene and began treatment. He was later transferred to Sheba Medical Center.

The man is reportedly a disabled veteran and was using a wheelchair. According to Walla News, he was known to the state welfare services and was treated by a social worker.

An eyewitness told Army Radio that passersby tried to extinguish the flames using water. “I saw a man with a wheelchair. His clothes were burning; he was writhing on the ground and screaming with pain.”

The man’s brother told Ynet News that he had long been frustrated by state bureaucracy and had tried to commit suicide in the past. He also said his brother had threatened to imitate Moshe Silman who set publicly himself on fire last Saturday.

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Earlier this month a social activist, 57-year-old Moshe Silman, set himself on fire during a social justice protest in Tel Aviv. He suffered third-degree burns over 94 percent of his body and subsequently died on Friday. His funeral was set to take place on Sunday evening.

Since then at least three people have threatened to light themselves on fire, but were stopped by passersby.

Chairman of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization Haim Bar said that the Defense Ministry rejected the man’s claim for additional funds in 1997 after determining that a stroke he suffered was unrelated to his army injury.