A man is behind bars after allegedly hanging a Palestinian flag from the bridge where the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack took place and making offensive gestures.
Police, including officers from anti-Semitism taskforce Operation Shelter, descended on the Campbell Parade site at about 3pm on Friday in response to reports from members of the public.
A NSW Police spokesperson said officers were told the 53-year-old man “allegedly hung a flag from the bridge and performed offensive hand gestures”. A photo of the flag shows it appeared to have “free Palestine” written on it.
The man was arrested and taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with offensive behaviour in a public place, and was refused bail to appear in a bail court on Saturday.
A witness told News24 the man was allegedly pretending to shoot a gun.
“The most galling part was when I walked past him he [allegedly] made shotgun gestures with his hands off the side of the bridge,” the witness said.
“He [allegedly] did three motions of shooting a gun with his hands.”
The witness said the man was then spoken to by eight officers, who quietly de-escalated the situation and confiscated the flag.
The incident comes after an aboriginal man was jailed in April for pretending to hold and shoot a rifle at the scene of the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack and shouting “f**k the Jews” while on parole.
Zayne McMillan pleaded guilty to three counts of behaving in an offensive manner in public and two counts of intimidation, and was sentenced to one years’ imprisonment with a nine-month non-parole period.
Header image: The man on the bridge (supplied).
