Woman sets fire at Eilat National Insurance branch

A 43-year-old woman started a fire at a National Insurance Institute branch in Eilat on Monday. The woman lit the fire in protest of what she called a lack of financial help from the Institute, Army Radio reported.

Fire crews extinguished the flames. The woman was arrested, gave an account of her actions and was released to her home, the report added.

The fire is the latest torching attempt against official institutions since a protester self-immolated at a rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night, saying fines to the NII made him homeless.

Moshe Silman is still in critical condition, with burns over 94% of his body.

On Sunday night protesters tried to burn down a branch of the NII in Ramat Gan, vandalizing and spraying graffit on the building.

Earlier 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, a man threatened to set himself on fire inside a Petah Tikva cell phone store over an NIS 20,000 debt owed the company. The man was stopped before he could harm himself.

Stuart Winer contributed to this report.