NEW YORK – A protester with a Palestinian flag set himself on fire at the Israeli consulate in the US state of Georgia after the bombardment on Gaza was resumed following the collapse of a truce.
Atlanta Police Department in a statement said that the demonstrator used petrol for self-immolation, adding that a Palestinian flag was also found at the scene.
Protesters are being held in various countries, including the US against the Israeli bombardment in Gaza where thousands of people, mostly children and women, have been killed so far since Oct 7 when Hamas attacked Israel in a surprise move.
Police have not revealed the identity and gender of the person, who have been shifted to hospital with burn injuries.
Reports said a security guard who attempted to stop the protesters was also injured in the incident.
According to police, the protester arrived at the facility at 12:17 local time (17:17 GMT).
“We believe this building remains safe and we do not see any threat here,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. “We believe this was an act of political protest.”
In a statement, the consul general of Israel to the south-east US, Anat Sultan-Dadon, said that the diplomatic mission is “saddened to learn of the self-immolation at the entrance to the office building”.
“It is tragic to see the hate and incitement toward Israel expressed in such a horrific way,” she said.
“The sanctity of life is our highest value. Our prayers are with the security officer who was injured while trying to prevent this tragic act”.
A day earlier, Israeli forces again launched bombardment on Gaza after a week-long truce ended without reaching a permanent solutions, with both sides blaming each other for violations of terms of agreement.
More than 180 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds others suffered injuries in the second day of Israel’s renewed bombardment of Gaza, health officials said.
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