The U.S. Consulate in Sydney was vandalized Monday with apparent pro-Palestinian graffiti as tensions from the Israel-Hamas war spill over internationally.
A person in a dark hoodie was seen on CCTV footage early Monday morning smashing nine holes in the glass windows of the building in North Sydney with a sledgehammer, the New South Wales Police Department confirmed to The Hill.
Two inverted red triangles, often a symbol of Palestinian resistance, were found painted on the front of the building, The Associated Press reported.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on advocates on both sides of the conflict to “turn the heat down,” and have “respectful political debate and discourse.”
“People are traumatized by what is going on in the Middle East, particularly those with relatives in either Israel or in the Palestinian Occupied Territories,” Albanese said during a Monday news conference.
The Hill reached out to the State Department for comment.
Police called on those with information or dashcam footage of the incident to contact authorities.
The consulate in Sydney is closed on Monday to mark the King’s Birthday, a public holiday in Australia. It is expected to reopen Tuesday.
New South Wales Premier Chirs Minns also weighed in on the incident Monday, stating, “We can make our point in this country without resorting to violence or malicious behavior, according to the AP.
The incident comes two months after the consulate was vandalized in April with the words “Free Gaza. A group of pro-Palestinian activists similarly vandalized the U.S. Consulate in Melbourne last December, according to local news reports.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
