IDF veteran Itzik Saidyan, who set himself on fire outside a Defense Ministry office in 2021 after his repeated requests for additional rehabilitation assistance were reportedly denied, was released Thursday from his rehabilitation center and returned home after two years of care.
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Saidyan self-immolated in protest over his treatment for PTSD outside the Petah Tikva offices of the Rehabilitation Department for disabled soldiers.
The IDF veteran fought in the 2014 Gaza war and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following the conflict.
Video: Moshe Ben Simhon
The attempted self-immolation has left him with severe burns all over his body. He was being treated at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
In a press conference after his release, Saidyan warned that after a temporary improvement, the situation for veterans seeking assistance had started to deteriorate again.
"It is important for me to say that the reform has stalled. It is difficult for me that this has happened but I hear from friends that the committees have returned to making it as difficult as it was before," he said. "I ask the government not to forget us. There are thousands like me. I was trapped at home for six years, and every day was a war that cannot be explained in words. Loneliness can kill."
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