A caravan found in Sydney's north-west containing explosives said to be capable of causing a "mass casualty event" targeting Jews has been labelled a terrorism threat.
The van is in police custody and police have made "periphery" arrests and assure there's no related ongoing threat but the main perpetrator is yet to be charged and questions remain over why it took 10 days to disclose the alarming find.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson and Premier Chris Minns held a press conference yesterday in an attempt to clear up some – but definitely not all – of the questions.
Here's what we know so far:
What happened?
A resident found the caravan on the side of Derriwong Road in Dural, north of Sydney, on January 19.
Police said it contained Powergel explosives capable of causing a blast with a 40-metre diameter, along with "indication that those explosives might be used in some form of antisemitic attack".
Police seized the caravan and spun up a taskforce they said featured about 100 officers from multiple departments but didn't inform the public until January 29, defending the secrecy as necessary to carry out investigations.
Authorities said Jewish community leaders and Minns were informed before the general public but didn't detail exactly when.
Why was it there?
This is harder to answer.
One possible response would be to carry out some form of attack.
Authorities indicated members of the Jewish community were the potential target of what would have been a "mass casualty event".
But that's not the only hypothesis on the table.
Hudson said police were also investigating whether it was left there deliberately as a "strategic matter" to be discovered.
"Whether someone was looking for some assistance at court, whether someone was going to disclose the existence of those explosives to us prior to it being recovered by a member of the community and towed to a safe place … we are still unsure of those circumstances, and we are pursuing every one of them," he said.
Is this terrorism?
Police did not declare the find as a terrorist incident but Hudson said that was because they felt they had enough powers to investigate the incident without triggering the broader anti-terror capabilities.
But Minns was unequivocal.
"This is the discovery of a potential mass casualty event. There's only one way of calling it out and that is terrorism," he said.
"There's bad actors in our community, badly motivated, bad ideologies, bad morals, bad ethics, bad people.
"They're intent on doing damage and harm to others in our community, people they've never met before, purely on the basis of their religion.
"It's hateful. It's an ideology that we need to stamp out."
Asked about whether it appeared to be right-wing extremism, Hudson said: "We don't have any particular ideology in relation to what's causing this, or any common links between certain ideologies."
Who's investigating?
More than 100 officers from the NSW Police Force, Australian Federal Police, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and NSW Crime Commission have been drafted into a taskforce to investigate.
Hudson said the probe was shifted out of Strike Force Pearl – the existing unit charged with addressing the spate of antisemitic attacks across Sydney in recent months – due to its "severity".
Who are the suspects?
Hudson said police had made arrests on "the periphery of this job" but believed others were involved.
"We are still looking for assistance in relation to anyone who saw that caravan parked by the side of the road from the seventh of December to the 19th of January this year, in Dural, a caravan that was parked in a hazardous position prior to it being moved by a local resident," he said.
He said there was "some connection" between some targets charged under Strike Force Pearl and the ongoing investigation into the caravan.
Some of those charged with offences such as graffiti and lighting synagogues on fire might be linked to this incident, he confirmed, without divulging any specifics.
What are Powergel explosives and how dangerous are they?
Powergel explosives are commonly used in mining for quarry blasting, tunnelling and other explosive works.
Hudson said the blast zone could have been 40 metres in diameter, enough to cause "a significant amount of damage".
Several different types are available from mining services giant Orica, which owns the Powergel trademark.
Many different combinations are available but they tend to be water resistant with a firm putty-like consistency – it looks a bit like a salami – and can be fired months after they're charged.
Police didn't specify what type of explosives or how much was found but believed they might have been taken from a mining site.
What's going on with the rise in antisemitic attacks?
The discovery comes amid an increase in antisemitic attacks across Sydney in the past few months, including the firebombing attack on a childcare centre in Maroubra on January 21.
Days earlier, the former home of Australian Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin was also targeted, with two cars set on fire and graffitied in Dover Heights.
Last week, police said 36 people had been charged with antisemitic-related offences – including eight charged with 59 offences – since Pearl was spun up in December.
On the same day, the AFP announced it was investigating whether "overseas actors" could be using cryptocurrency or other methods to hire "criminals for hire" to carry out some of the attacks.
Jewish leaders have been demanding more action from government officials, saying they don't want to see anti-Israel sentiment spill into violence on Australian streets after 15 months of war in Gaza.
Michelle Berkon from Jews Against the Occupation '48 – a minority group of Jewish Australians who condemn Israel's actions in Gaza – said it was "very malicious" to suggest, as some had, that Palestinians or their supporters were behind the antisemitic attacks.
"Who stands to benefit from this? It's certainly not the Palestinians, is it?" she told CNN.
What's the reaction been?
Leaders from across the political spectrum lined up to condemn what had been found.
"Hate and extremism have no place in Australian society," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Minss said the discovery would "strike terror into the community, particularly the Jewish community".
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the discovery was "alarming".
"It would be inappropriate to comment further until the facts have been confirmed. Given the recent attacks against the Jewish community the sooner that happens, the better," he said.
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said it was extremely concerned at the documents found with the caravan, describing it as a "matter of the gravest possible consequence".
"We have been saying for weeks now that the Jewish community is the target of an ongoing campaign of domestic terrorism," president David Ossip said.
"This is now beyond dispute.
"We are engaging closely with law enforcement and the government in relation to this matter and the ongoing security of the Jewish community."
Is there a threat of further attacks?
Police, Minns and Jewish leaders have stated there's no remaining threat from this incident, without going so far as to assure complete safety.
"We are aware that we've recovered the explosives that are known to be out there," Hudson said.
"We believe that through the arrests that have been made on the periphery of this job, through Strike Force Pearl, that we have mitigated the risk as much as possible at this stage.
"I'm not saying it's been eliminated. I'm saying it's being mitigated."
The deputy commissioner said the caravan was the "only matter currently under investigation by the joint counter-terrorism team in relation to a similar job".
Why did it take so long to become public?
Authorities have defended the length of time between the caravan's discovery and members of the public being alerted.
"There are ongoing investigations which need to be conducted," Hudson said.
"Ideally, those investigations are conducted with some form of anonymity in relation to what we are trying to pursue.
"I've indicated that we have made arrests on the periphery of this job, but we still are after other offenders that we believe may be involved.
"To come out prior to it being put out by particular news establishments would compromise that job.
"That was going to happen once it became [public knowledge] so in discussions with government, we decided to disclose fully what we're aware of and where we're going with this job."
Minns threw his weight behind the decision not to alert the public sooner.
"I want to make it clear in relation to the disclosure of this, there's a very good reason that police don't detail methods and tactics, and that's so that criminals don't understand what police are getting up to in their investigations," he said.
"And that's exactly what police have been doing over the last 10 days, since this, since the discovery of the van was made by NSW Police.
"That is a crucial part of this investigation, and it doesn't mean that resources, time, effort, money, wasn't being put into this inquiry because the opposite was taking place."
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