Police are investigating alleged criminal damage to federal Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office in Melbourne after discovering it vandalised on Monday morning with what appeared to be a Hamas symbol.
Victoria Police said in a statement that alleged paint was sprayed and a door damaged between the hours of 2-9am at the building located on Sydney Roard in Brunswick, as reported by The Guardian.
They said the alleged offenders poured an unknown liquid through the door, with no one being inside at the time.
Khalil stated his staff found the office vandalised upon arriving for work Monday morning, noting that among the vandalisation was an inverted red triangle (a symbol associated with Hamas and that has been used to indicate Israeli military targets.
The politician added that staff also noticed an unknown substance had been pumped into the office via a hole that had been made.
“The stench was so unbearable that staff immediately closed the door, and five hours later still feel overwhelmed and sick from the intensity,” Khalil said.
Khalil stressed his staff had a right to be safe at work, labelling the behaviour demonstrated as “unacceptable”.
“I have always supported peaceful protest as a fundamental part of our democratic society. But when that behaviour escalates into actions that harm people, as it has today, then that is not protest. That is unacceptable both under the law and morally, and it needs to be called out.”
The Labor MP had earlier told the ABC that a hazmat team and Fire Rescue Victoria were called “given the possibility there could be something toxic there and dangerous”.
A FRV spokesperson stated it responded to a triple zero call at 9.09am and firefighters found red liquid sprayed inside the premises when they arrived, though the scene was deemed under control at 9.25am.
“FRV’s Hazmat team determined the liquid did not contain flammable materials and conducted further tests,” the spokesperson said.
The vandalisation, as seen through photos provided by Khalil’s office, show the phrases “Land Back” and “Glory to the martyr” in red spray paint on an exterior wall with the aforementioned inverted red triangle graffitied on a door while the office signage is also sprayed in red paint.
Khalil, the federal government’s special envoy for social cohesion, has previously been targeted by pro-Palestine activists, with protesters dumped fake corpses outside his Coburg electorate office in Melbourne’s north in November last year.
Adam Bandt, the leader of the Greens – who are hoping to win Khalil’s seat of Wills at next year’s federal election, condemned the attack on his X account, saying:
“Protests must always be peaceful and non-violent. Everyone should feel safe at work, and we wish Peter Khalil and his team well after this vandalism overnight.”
James Patterson, the Liberal senator for Victoria, said the continued targeting of Khalil’s office and staff was “totally unacceptable”.
“The perpetrators of this intimidating and dangerous behaviour must feel the full force of the law,” he said in a post on X.
Source: The Guardian
