The US consulate in Sydney, Australia, was attacked early Monday by a suspect wielding a sledgehammer, smashing windows and scrawling anti-Israel graffiti on the door.
Security camera footage obtained by police shows a hooded man with his face covered using a hammer to smash nine windows at the consulate around 3 a.m., ABC News I will report.
Two red triangles were also spray-painted over the consulate’s coat of arms at the main entrance, a symbol used by anti-Israel protesters, according to Reuters.
CBC News also reports that the symbol has been used by Hamas to identify Israeli military targets in videos, Fox News reports. Claim.
Police have described it as a case of malicious damage and are working to determine the motive behind the incident, but believe it to be politically motivated, the ABC reported.
A couple walks past a boarded-up window at the U.S. Consulate as police investigate an act of vandalism in Sydney, Monday, June 10, 2024. A police statement said the suspect(s) allegedly punched nine holes in the reinforced glass window of the North Sydney building just after 3 a.m. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the actions and called on people to engage in “respectful political debate and dialogue”.
“People are traumatized by what’s happening in the Middle East, especially those who have relatives in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Speaking to reporters in Canberra on Monday morning, Mr Albanese urged people to “take the heat off”, adding: “That’s not the Australian way”.
“Measures such as painting over a U.S. consulate certainly do nothing to advance the cause of those who commit crimes such as damaging property.”
“Terrorist acts” https://t.co/czhAL2oOPE
—Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 16, 2024
A consulate spokesman told Reuters that operations at the consulate were not affected and that “the Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police are investigating the incident.”
In April, the same consulate was vandalized with graffiti reading “Liberate Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the US Consulate in Melbourne was vandalised by anti-Israel agitators on May 31st.
