WASHINGTON: A demonstrator outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, US was in critical condition Friday following setting himself on fire, in what police officials said was likely an “extreme” political statement.
“A Palestinian flag was reported on the spot and was part of the demonstration,” said Darin Schierbaum, police officer in Atlanta. A security guard was also wounded following trying to stop the demonstrator, emergency service said. Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith confirmed that both persons sustained burns.
However, the official did not disclose the identity of the demonstrator. Roderick Smith maintained that the security personnel noticed that the protestor was trying to set himself afire” shortly following the protester reached in front of the consulate compound around noon 1700 GMT. The security guard “immediately tried but failed to stop the campaigner.
Demonstrator in Atlanta Sets Self on Fire Outside Israeli Consulate
Earlier, a US citizen was charged with attempted murder over the shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent in Vermont, and a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed to death in Illinois, US in October.
Meanwhile, Health Ministry in Gaza said that 178 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the Gaza Strip following expiration of ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. It said that most of the killed and injured are children and women. Israel restarted its lethal bombing of the Strip shortly following the week-long ceasefire expired at 0500 GMT. The Israeli military said it had struck over 200 targets in the Strip.
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Gaza media office said that field hospitals immediately needed as Israel restarts offensive in the Gaza Strip. It has called on regional and Muslim countries to immediately establish field hospitals in Gaza to save “tens of thousands of wounded people”.
