Australian Prime Minister Calls for Calm Amid Vandalism at US Consulate

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged activists on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict to remain calm after the US Consulate in Sydney was vandalized. The incident involved damage to the consulate building and symbolic graffiti. Albanese emphasized respectful political discourse and condemned the crime.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged activists from both sides of the Israel-Palestine debate to de-escalate after the US Consulate in Sydney was vandalized early on Monday.

Surveillance footage captured an individual clad in a dark hoodie using a small sledgehammer to create nine holes in the reinforced glass windows of the North Sydney building shortly after 3 am, according to a police statement.

Further, two inverted red triangles—viewed by some as a symbol of Palestinian resistance and by others as support for Hamas—were painted on the building's facade.

Calling for more respectful political dialogue and discourse, Albanese remarked, 'People are traumatized by events in the Middle East, especially those with relatives in Israel or Palestinian Occupied Territories.' He reiterated his plea for calm, noting that the vandalism did nothing to advance any cause and only constituted a criminal act.

Although the consulate was closed on Monday due to a public holiday in New South Wales, it plans to reopen on Tuesday, according to an official consulate statement.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns echoed similar sentiments, stating that most Australians disapprove of such acts of vandalism. 'We can express our viewpoints in this country without resorting to violence or malicious behavior,' Minns added.

Previously, the consulate had been defaced with graffiti in April, containing the misspelled words 'Freee Gaza.' Moreover, the US Consulate in Melbourne had also been vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists on May 31.

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