A 45-year-old former police officer suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder set himself on fire Friday morning outside the home of a senior official in the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department in the town of Neve Ilan.
He was rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in critical condition, sedated and on a ventilator, with burns of varying severity across his body, the hospital said.
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A trailer and protest sign left outside the home of a senior Rehabilitation Department official in Neve Ilan, Israel, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. A former police officer suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder set himself on fire at the site earlier in the day
According to officials, the man has been under the ministry’s care since 2013, when he was injured on duty after being struck in the head by a stone thrown by a mentally unstable man. He retired from the police nine years ago and was recognized as partially disabled due to both his physical and psychological injuries.
Divorced and a father of three, he had been homeless for several months and reportedly living near the rehabilitation official’s house. For the past two years, he had been petitioning for a special disability rating exceeding 100 percent, which would have entitled him to government housing. Authorities said multiple attempts were made to provide him with assistance and housing, but they did not succeed.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 7:54 a.m., Magen David Adom paramedics said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which broke out in the yard of the official’s home, and prevented it from spreading to the building. A fire investigator was dispatched to determine the cause and circumstances.
The former officer had a history of distress and protest. In 2021, he reportedly threatened to set himself on fire during a meeting with officials. He also took part in demonstrations alongside veterans suffering from combat-related trauma and in Knesset hearings advocating for expanded support for the mentally wounded. In a recent message to friends, he expressed anger over government legislation he said failed to improve aid for PTSD sufferers, urging others to “make our voices heard” and join him in protest outside the Knesset.
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Emergency responders at the scene in Neve Ilan, Israel, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, after a former police officer with PTSD set himself on fire outside a Defense Ministry official’s home
(Photo: United Hatzalah)
The case recalls that of Itzik Saidian, a former Golani Brigade soldier who self-immolated in 2021 outside the Rehabilitation Department’s offices in protest of its treatment of combat veterans. Saidian survived and later became a public advocate for soldiers with PTSD. His act spurred the Defense Ministry to introduce the One Soul reform, aimed at expanding care and benefits for veterans with psychological trauma.
However, a 2023 State Comptroller report found that most of the program’s budget remained unused, and access to services continued to lag.
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Combat veterans protest outside the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department offices in Petah Tikva, Israel, August 2025
(Photo: Oz Moalem)
Although Friday’s incident appears unrelated to the ongoing war in Gaza, it comes amid a reported rise in suicide attempts among veterans suffering from trauma.
The Combat Veterans Forum said in a statement: “The war may have ended on the battlefield, but for many of our fighters, it continues every day in their minds. The state must take full responsibility — not through bureaucracy, but through compassion and immediate action. We call on the government and the Defense Ministry to drastically improve access to psychological and rehabilitation services and to truly listen to the voices of our soldiers.”