Police said the demonstrator used petrol, and a Palestinian flag was found at the scene, outside the mission in Atlanta. The person's gender and age remain unclear.
A security guard who attempted to intervene was also injured. 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," Mr Schierbaum said. "We believe this was an act of political protest."
The guard suffered burns to their wrist and leg during the incident, Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith told reporters. Both the protester and the guard were taken to a local hospital.
In a statement, the consul general of [Zionism] to the southeast US, Anata 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 added.
"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".
These type of protests have to be the stupidest, like if youre throwing your life away at least do something that does materially benefit whatever you are protesting.
Agree. Some traditions like buddhist or taoist view it as acceptable (though it's always the height of desperation and last method), and you will see it sporadically through the history in other places too.
Sometimes it even allegedly worked (like Hirate Masahide suicide in 1533), but this time it clearly did not: “It is tragic to see the hate and incitement toward Israel expressed in such a horrific way”
These acts have always seemed like a symptom of psychosis to me. I suspect these people likely planned to end their lives anyway, as an act of protest or not. :\
Edit: Apologies, didn't mean to be unempathetic. I just think it's tragic that world events have driven this much pain into person that they are driven to the point of ending their life.
Respectfully, this type of thinking is beyond irritating. Do we not try and practice empathy here? Why not imagine the possibility that people can experience vastly different internal worlds than that of your own?
It kicked off the protests in Tunisia that resulted in a radical restructuring of society, but the people of Tunisia were more empathetic to that action than Americans. So many people have absolutely dog shit takes about this act of protest, not the slightest amount of empathy for what would drive a person to this.