In an increase in threats against the Jewish community that authorities referred to as terrorism, Australian police announced on Wednesday that they had stopped a planned antisemitic attack after finding a caravan filled with explosives.
According to New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson, the caravan was found on January 19 in the district of Dural, around 36 kilometers (22 miles) northwest of Sydney’s downtown, he said at a press conference.
He said at a press conference that the caravan had a number of bombs and there were signs that they would be utilized in an antisemitic assault.
He said that the Jewish community was no longer under danger because the threat had been completely eliminated.
Hudson stated that there had been arrests, but he did not specify the number or the nature of the charges.
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, stated that more than 100 officers were looking into the event as part of a combined state and federal police counterterrorism operation.
The identification of a possible mass casualty catastrophe is this. According to him, there is only one way to expose it, and that is through terrorism.
Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in late 2023, Australia has seen a number of antisemitic occurrences in recent months, including attacks on synagogues, buildings, and automobiles.
As antisemitic events in the nation have increased, the opposition has assailed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his center-left Labor Party, which is up for reelection in polls that must be held by May.
The government claims to have taken further measures to safeguard the Jewish community, such as increasing funds and establishing a federal taskforce to look into cases of antisemitism.