NEW YORK: A protester with a Palestinian flag set himself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, the capital of the US state of Georgia, as a protest against Israel’s continued airstrikes on Gaza.
The unidentified protester, critically injured, arrived at the office building around 12:17 pm and used petrol, said Police Chief Darin Schierbaum in a press conference. He said that a security guard attempting to intervene also suffered injuries.
Police Chief said the building, housing the consulate and various businesses, was deemed safe, with no perceived ongoing threat.
Israel had resumed its military offensive in Gaza following the expiration of an extended week-long truce between Hamas and Israel.
Israel’s Bombing Campaign Kills Over 15,000 Palestinians in Gaza
Israel has been targeting the Gaza Strip since October 7. Since then, more than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been martyred in these indiscriminate bombings, while two-third of buildings the Gaza Strip, including civilians’ buildings, schools, hospitals and UN installations, have been either completely destroyed or partially damaged.
The incident unfolded against the backdrop of an increase in antisemitic, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic threats and violence in the US linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Earlier last month, a man was charged with attempted murder for shooting three men of Palestinian descent in Vermont and the stabbing death of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois in October.
