Australia's Anthony Albanese calls on protesters to “turn down the heat” after windows of the US consulate were smashed.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident in which the US consulate in Sydney was attacked with a sledgehammer and defaced with pro-Palestinian graffiti.
Albanese said on Monday that protesters should “let up the pressure” and that such acts were “not the Australian way.”
“The Middle East conflict is a difficult issue. It's complex. It certainly needs some nuance and it's not just a matter of slogans,” Albanese told a news conference in Canberra.
“Measures such as painting the United States consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is, of course, a crime of property damage.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the incident as “reprehensible”.
“It's an indication of a kind of vulgarization of public debate that no one needs in Australia,” Minns said. “This type of behavior will be investigated and punished by NSW Police.”
Police said security camera footage showed a hooded figure with his face hidden smashing windows at the consulate around 3 a.m. Monday.
The consulate's coat of arms was also painted with two inverted red triangles, which some protesters use to symbolize Palestinian resistance.
The consulate had already been vandalized with the words “Free Gaza” in April, while the US consulate in Melbourne was spray-painted in a similar incident last month.
Australia is a close ally of Israel, but has become increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza in recent months.
In April, Albanese criticized Israel's explanation for the killing of Australian woman Zomi Frankcom and six other aid workers in Gaza as “not good enough.”
