Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemns graffiti attack on US consulate in Sydney

Sydney: 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.

“Actions such as painting the US consulate do not help advance the cause of those who committed property damage, which is of course a crime,” he added.

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

“Video footage shows a person wearing a dark-colored hoodie with his face covered and carrying what looks like a small sledgehammer,” a police spokesman said. Reuters by telephone.

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.

Australia has long been a loyal ally of Israel, but has become increasingly critical of Israel’s behavior in the Gaza Strip, where an Australian aid worker was killed in an Israeli attack earlier this year.

Last month, camps erupted at universities in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities to protest Israel’s war in Gaza and accuse the Australian government of not doing enough for peace.