Fed: Local Palestinians, Jews urged to show restraint

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Fed: Local Palestinians, Jews urged to show restraint

SYDNEY, April 8 AAP - Political and ethnic leaders have urged restraint by Palestinianand Jewish Australians as police trawl through video footage to identify violent Palestinianprotesters.

The calls came as five synagogues nationwide were vandalised over the past week asIsrael continued its military offensive in the West Bank following a spate of six suicidebombings.

Prime Minister John Howard is expected to discuss the Middle East crisis when he meetsworld leaders also attending the Queen Mother's funeral in London tomorrow.

Opposition family and community services spokesman Wayne Swan said Australia shouldaggressively lobby Washington to broker a peace deal between the two sides.

Two policemen were injured when about 50 of a group of 4,000 Palestinians stormed apolice line at a protest outside the Israeli consulate in Sydney on the Jewish sabbath.

A police spokesman today said projectiles seized from the protest were undergoing forensictesting and detectives were trawling through video footage to identify the rogue protesters.

NSW Premier Bob Carr urged restraint while diplomatic efforts continue to achieve a ceasefire.

"I just want to urge everyone involved in our very harmonious society to take a stepback," he said.

"We have a Jewish community, we have an Arabic community, we have a Palestinian community-- overwhelmingly good loyal Australians.

"I urge them all to take a step back from violent sentiments."

Protest spokesman and co-organiser, Sari Kassis, said the group has since issued astatement in Arabic condemning the violence.

"We want to end violence, not perpetuate it, especially not in Australia or anywhereelse," Mr Kassis said.

"The whole point of this protest was basically to take to the streets in a peaceful manner.

"We can be passionate, we can be loud, we have to put the message across that the Howardgovernment is not doing enough.

"We condemned the violence unequivocally."

Mr Kassis said the Palestinian community would work with police as much as possibleto identify the offenders who stormed the police line and threw projectiles, althoughthey were not known to him.

Meanwhile, a fifth synagogue was attacked in Sydney's west, with windows smashed andgraffiti scrawled on the walls.

Three other synagogues in Sydney and one in Melbourne have also been targeted.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Jeremy Jones said the incidences ofhate mail and anti-Israel and anti-Jewish graffiti nationwide had soared in the past week.

AAP sal/cd/sb

KEYWORD: MIDEAST AUST NIGHTLEAD