Australian Prime Minister calls for people to “turn the heat down” following US Consulate vandalism
Image: Pro-Palestinian symbols are seen spray painted on the windows of the US Consulate in Sydney (AAP Image/Stephanie Moring)
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned the vandalism of the US Consulate in North Sydney on Monday night.
At about 3am, a hooded person with a small sledge hammer made several attempts to shatter the glass windows but only made some small holes on the reinforced glass.
The person also sprayed inverted red triangles over the consulate’s coat of arms on the front door, a symbol used by some pro-Palestinian activists.
Speaking to press, Albanese said called for people to “turn the heat down”, adding that it’s “not the Australian way.”
“The Middle East conflict is a difficult issue. It is complex. It certainly needs some nuance and isn’t a matter of just sloganeering,” he continued.
“Measures such as painting the US Consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is, of course, a crime to damage property.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the act was “rephrehensible” and “an indication of a kind of coarsening of the public debate that no one needs in Australia.”
Both NSW Police and Australian Federal Police officers were on the scene in what they have described as an incident of malicious damage.
In April, the US Consulate was spray painted with the words “Freee [sic] Gaza” and pink paint splashed on the windows.
At the end of May, the US Consulate in Melbourne was also vandalised by pro-Palestinian activists, as well as several offices of MPs.
