Australia PM urges activists to ‘turn the heat down’ after US Consulate vandalized over Gaza war

SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on activists on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian debate to “turn down the heat” after the US consulate in Sydney was vandalized on Monday.

CCTV footage showed a person wearing a dark hoodie using a small sledgehammer to smash nine holes into the reinforced glass windows of the North Sydney building after 3am, a police statement said.

Two inverted red triangles were also painted on the front of the building, seen by many as a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

The Albanians called on people to engage in “respectful political debate and discourse.”

“People are traumatized by what is going on in the Middle East, especially those with relatives in Israel or in the Palestinian occupied territories,” Albanese told reporters.

“And I say again: repeat my call to turn down the heat and measures such as painting the US Consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who committed a crime which is obviously a crime of damaging property,” Albanese added. .

The consulate was closed on Monday due to a public holiday in New South Wales state, but would reopen on Tuesday, a statement from the consulate said.

Prime Minister of New South Wales Chris Minns said an overwhelming majority of Australians did not approve of such vandalism.

“We can make our point in this country without resorting to violence or malicious behavior,” Minns said.

The consulate was sprayed with graffiti in April, including the words “Freee (sic) Gaza.” The US consulate in Melbourne was vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists on May 31.