Gazan sets himself on fire days after Israeli massacre

A Palestinian father in Gaza set himself on fire in the early hours of Sunday, reportedly in protest over unpaid wages.

The man, identified in Israeli media as 22-year-old Fathi Walid Harb, set himself on fire at around 3am in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.

According to a witness, he blamed the government over his economic difficulties, Haaretz reported. Harb, a Palestinian Authority employee, was angry over his salary being withheld, i24News said.

Social media reports in Gaza said he was moderately wounded and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

YNet reported Harb's family said he did not suffer from mental illness, and that his brother was among the thousands of Palestinians injured in the Great Return March protests.

The Palestinian Authority has been accused of withholding salaries to its Gaza staff, amid an ongoing split with the strip's Islamist rulers Hamas. 

The Fatah-dominated PA, led by Mahmoud Abbas, has been ratcheting up a campaign to stir unrest against its rival as a tactic to force it to give up power. 

One such punitive measure was stopping payments for electricity to Israel last year, plunging much of Gaza into darkness. Gazans can now never expect more than six hours of electricity.

The Israeli-blockaded enclave, which the UN has labelled "unliveable", has also been hit by severe aid cuts after US President Donald Trump announced it was withholding $65 million of its $125 million commitment for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA).