A fake bomb was planted on a man’s car in South Sydney late last week, because he flew a Palestinian flag outside of his home.
Theo, who didn’t want to disclose his last name for safety precautions, went to take his rabbits outside and was shocked to discover a jerry can with a lighter and metal bolts taped to the bonnet of his four-wheel drive.
The device looked like a homemade bomb with a handwritten sign that read: “Enough! Take down flag. One chance!”
Theo told the ABC when that when he saw the homemade bomb he could also smell petrol.
Detectives are still investigating the incident and have asked anyone with information in relation to the event to come forward.
Theo believes that whoever had snuck into his backyard and planted the fake bomb was trying scare him out of flying the Palestinian flag and said finding the bomb was “scary” and “traumatising”.
He immediately called Triple Zero and within minutes the New South Wales Police as well the Bomb Squad arrived at his home in Botany. Officials used a robot to inspect the homemade bomb and discovered it was fake and marked the device as safe.
“Someone creeping into my yard to plant a bomb, you can creep out,” he told Nine News.
Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, called the fake bomb planting “disgusting” and a “real act of cowardice”.
Theo is just one of many people across Sydney and other cities in Australia who are flying the Palestinian flag to show solidarity with Palestinians during the ongoing war in Gaza, and despite the fake bomb incident Theo said the flag will remain flying.
As it stands, over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 2 million displaced in Gaza due to Israeli forces.