US Consulate Targeted by Pro-Palestinian Activists in Melbourne

Damage is seen to the exterior of the U.S. Consulate General in Melbourne in Australia on May 31, 2024. AAP/James Ross

Pro-Palestinian activists have vandalised the United States Consulate and multiple Labor parliamentarians in the Australian state of Victoria.

The phrases “Glory to the Martyrs” and “Free Gaza” were graffitied on the U.S. Consulate General building on St. Kilda Road in Melbourne, accompanied by broken windows.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus were among Labor politicians affected.

Victorian Police are continuing to investigate after the vandalism allegedly took place in the early hours of the morning of May 31. A Victorian Police spokesperson told the Epoch Times that no arrests had been made at this stage.

At Mr. Shorten’s office, the phrase, “Bill blood on your hands 40,000 dead” and “you are complicit in genocide” were seen in images of the incident.

Speaking about the attack, Mr. Shorten said people have a right to feel strongly about the “distressing scenes in Gaza and Israel, but there’s a line and you don’t cross it.”

“The idea that you are saying you’re protesting for peace by being violent is like burning books for literacy. It’s just rubbish,” he told reporters.

He asserted that if these demonstrators harbor the belief that their cause grants them permission to contravene Australian law, such a notion is unfounded.

“It’s threatening coercive bullying, illegal conduct, and at a very pragmatic level, even if you just separate the fact that what they’re doing is illegal. Who do they think they’re persuading?” he said.

Mr. Shorten added there is sort of an “arrogant minority, dictatorial view” that somehow they think that they are above the law.

“That’s exactly the direct opposite of social cohesion in Australia,” he said.

The tension in Australia comes amid the Israel-Hamas war, which flared up on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched an attack on Israel killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Since then, more than 35,000 people have died in Gaza according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

Palestine State Motion

Meanwhile, Greens leader Adam Bandt sought to suspend standing orders in Parliament in order to propose a motion for the House of Representatives to officially recognise the state of Palestine.

The Coalition and the Labor Party teamed up to vote down the suspension motion on May 30, with five votes in favour and 80 against.

Mr. Bandt stated that Palestine’s statehood is a critical step towards peace and towards ending the slaughter that we are seeing with the invasion of Gaza right now.

“The best time to have stopped this horrific invasion was eight months ago, but the next best time is now. There is a reason other countries around the world, right now, today, are shifting their positions to recognise the state of Palestine. Australia should join them,” Mr. Bandt said (pdf).

However, Liberal MP Julian Leeser said he opposed the suspension of standing orders, saying it would do nothing to change the situation on the ground in the Middle East or benefit social cohesion in Australia.

Mr. Leeser said the Coalition supports a two-state solution in the Middle East, but is opposed to the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

“A Palestinian state should only be recognised by Australia after a peace agreement has been reached with Israel after negotiations have been concluded on the ground,” Mr. Leeser said.

“Key to that recognition is for Palestinian leaders to recognise Israel’s inherent right to exist, which many of them simply don’t. The member for Melbourne’s motion undermines the work of peacemakers on the ground and rewards those who choose violence over negotiation.”

He said the motion means recognising a Palestinian state when Palestinian leaders continue to refuse to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

“This motion means recognising a Palestinian state when Hamas still has not released 130 Israeli hostages. This motion runs contrary to the traditions of Australian foreign policy. Australia simply doesn’t recognise countries that have yet come into existence,” he said.

Meanwhile, Labor Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said the member for Melbourne knew full well that procedural motions like this were always opposed.

“Why he would be deliberately setting up a vote on Palestinian recognition to fail is something only he can answer,” Mr. Watts said.

Mr. Watts said that on the question of recognition, the government has made clear that it will be guided by whether recognition will advance the cause of peace.

“Like many countries, Australia has been frustrated by the lack of progress in this regard. Like Germany and the UK, staunch friends of Israel, Australia no longer sees recognition as only occurring at the end of the process; it could occur as part of a peace process and once there is progress on serious governance reforms and security concerns,” he said.

“Hamas is a terrorist organisation. We see no role for them in this. A Palestinian state cannot be in a position to threaten Israel’s security. We want to see a reformed Palestinian governing authority that is committed to peace, disavows violence, and is ready to engage in a meaningful peace process.”