Sydney resident finds bomb on car after displaying Palestinian flag

A Sydney resident has recounted the frightening experience of finding a suspected bomb attached to his vehicle after displaying a Palestinian flag outside his home, reported Guardian Australia.

Theo, who chose not to disclose his last name for safety concerns, discovered the explosive device while taking his rabbits outside at his Botany home on Friday.

A message attached to the device read: “Enough! Take down flag! One chance!!!!”

The homemade device was identified as a jerry can containing petrol with a rag tightly inserted into the open lid. Additionally, a lighter was affixed to the top, and several bolts were taped to the side.

Bomb Squad officers were called to the residence and successfully eliminated the device, declaring it to be safe.

“I felt scared, intruded on, violated and angry,” said Theo. “The police haven’t told me much. I don’t know what to think. I’ve had a lot of messages of support from people, which means a lot, but unfortunately this did happen.”

In response to the reported bomb threat, Acting Home Affairs Minister, Andrew Giles, affirmed that there is “no place in Australia for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or any form of hate speech.”

Nasser Mashni from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network criticised the incident as “another alarming sign of the anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia that is rife” in Australian communities.

He added: “It’s appalling to see these attempts to terrorise members of the community into silence for their acts of solidarity with Palestinians.”

Law enforcement has set up a crime scene and initiated an investigation into the incident, urging those with additional information to contact Crime Stoppers.

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