Australian Prime Minister condemns graffiti attack on US consulate over Gaza war

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday condemned the vandalism at the US consulate in Sydney after the building was defaced in what local media said was a suspected pro-Palestinian protest.

The building in a northern suburb of Australia’s largest city was attacked at around 3 a.m. local time on Monday by a person with a small sledgehammer and sprayed with paint.

“I just want to say that people should have a respectful political debate and a respectful discourse,” Albanese said in a televised news conference from Canberra when asked about the incident.

“People are traumatised by events in the Middle East, particularly those with relatives in Israel or the Palestinian-occupied territories,” Albanese told reporters.

“And I just want to reiterate my call to ease the pressure. Actions like painting the US consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed vandalism, which is of course a crime,” Albanese added.

Nine windows of the consulate were damaged and the door of the building was defaced with graffiti, police said.

“CCTV shows a person wearing a dark-colored hoodie with his face covered. He is carrying what looks like a small sledgehammer,” a police spokesman told Reuters by phone.

A spokesman for the U.S. consulate confirmed the damage to the building but said staff and operations were not affected.

“The Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police are investigating the incident,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Photos of the consulate on the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper’s website showed inverted red triangles spray-painted on the building’s facade, a symbol used by some pro-Palestinian activists, it said.
The same building was sprayed with graffiti in April, while the US consulate in Melbourne was sprayed by pro-Palestinian activists in May, the newspaper reported.