US consulate in Sydney vandalized with suspected pro-Palestinian symbol

Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese condemns vandalism of the US consulate in Sydney after the building was defaced in what local media says appears to be a pro-Palestinian protest.

The building in the northern suburbs of Australia’s largest city was attacked overnight and sprayed with paint by a person carrying a small sledgehammer, New South Wales police say.

Nine windows of the consulate were damaged and the building’s door was graffitied, police say.

According to ABC News, two inverted red triangles were graffitied over the consulate’s coat of arms on the door.

The symbol has come to signify support for Hamas because the terror group uses the symbol in videos, often to mark a target for attack.

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

“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,” he adds.

The same building was sprayed with graffiti in April, while the US consulate in Melbourne was graffitied by pro-Palestinian activists in May, according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

JUST IN: Police are investigating after the US Consulate in North Sydney was vandalised early this morning.

CCTV shows a person wearing a dark-coloured hoodie with their face obscured damaging nine windows with a small sledgehammer and painting graffiti on the door. #9News pic.twitter.com/pGtfSNPtCz

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) June 10, 2024