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

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged activists on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian debate to “turn the heat down” after the U.S. Consulate in Sydney was vandalized. CCTV footage showed a person wearing a dark hoodie using a small sledgehammer to smash nine holes in the reinforced glass windows of the building in North Sydney after 3 a.m. on Monday. Two inverted red triangles, seen by many as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, were also painted on the front of the building. Albanese urged people to have “respectful political debate and discourse.” The consulate remained closed on Monday because of a public holiday in New South Wales state but plans to reopen on Tuesday.