AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A truck bearing Palestinian flags was deliberately set on fire outside a home in Newport, a suburb in Melbourne's inner-west, in what the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) has described as an "Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian hate crime."
Victoria Police confirmed that a Molotov cocktail was allegedly used in the early Monday morning incident and that detectives are investigating.
A police spokesperson stated that "all reports of prejudice-motivated crime are taken extremely seriously," ABC News reported on Saturday.
Additional patrols have been deployed in the area, and authorities are also probing a possible link to a second fire involving a ute tray in a nearby street.
The truck’s owner, Ehab Elhila, extinguished the flames before they caused significant damage. No injuries were reported, though the incident has left Elhila and his family shaken.
Elhila, 58, an Australian citizen of Palestinian origin who has lived in Australia for 40 years, said the incident deeply affected his children, aged 10 and 13. "It was shocking for them to see," he said.
Elhila, who was born in Rafah, Gaza, and has lost numerous family members in the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian territory, has been vocal in his support for the Palestinian cause.
Despite the incident, he noted his local community's support, describing his street as "very quiet" and filled with "supportive" neighbors.
On Friday, the ICV expressed alarm over the incident and criticized the lack of a public statement from police. Spokesperson Adel Salman stated the council was "quite surprised" by the silence, adding, "We would have expected an announcement expressing concern, expressing condemnation … but it's been radio silence."
A witness to the incident, identified only as Hamish, reported seeing a man in the street yelling Islamophobic abuse shortly before the fire was noticed.
Hamish, who called emergency services and alerted residents, recounted hearing phrases like "f***ing Muslims" and "torch them, torch them all."
Elhila has since removed a Palestinian flag displayed in his home window, citing his wife’s fears. However, he has decided to keep the Palestinian and Aboriginal flags on his truck, which he has displayed for over a year. "I'm not taking the flags off because really, this is too overboard," he said.
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