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A 48-year-old man set himself on fire during a hearing at the Be'er Sheva District Court on Sunday.

It is unclear how the man succeeded in bringing flammable materials into the heavily guarded courthouse. Once inside, he poured gasoline on his body and set himself on fire. “He said some words, poured gasoline on himself and lit it,” a witness said.

Ahmad Abu Allan, a man present at a hearing in the next room, tried to douse the fire with his jacket, a Ynet article reported. Another man, Maher Abu Ayyash, also tried dousing the fire with an attorney's robe. Meanwhile, another attorney ran out of the room and returned with a fire extinguisher, with which he successfully doused the fire. No else was injured in the incident.

"I heard screams, ran outside and saw one woman running in one direction and the other in another," said Abu Allan. “I ran into the hall and saw a man convulsing on the floor, he was on fire and was calling for his mother. I went outside looking for clothes. I saw a man with a jacket, grabbed it, and ran back inside to put out the flames with it.”

He just took out a bottle, poured it on himself and set it on fire," said Ismail Al-Hubara, another witness. "There were no security guards at all … there were screams and we saw smoke. It lasted a few seconds.”

Emergency services were called and the man was evacuated to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva with serious burns on the upper part of his body.

The defendant was in court for allegedly throwing documents at a medical secretary in a health clinic and yelling: "I'll show you what's what! Call security and see what it will be like."

The defendant had planned on striking a plea bargain on Sunday in court. It is unknown why he set himself on fire.