Police Treating Fire at Palestinian-Owned Melbourne Restaurant Burgertory as 'Suspicious'

A Palestinian-owned burger restaurant was burnt in a large fire on Friday morning and police are treating the incident as “suspicious”.

Emergency services were called to the blaze at Burgertory on Glen Huntly road in Caulfield just after 4:15am.

Victoria Police said Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit Detectives were investigating the fire.

“The exact cause of the fire is being investigated but is being treated as suspicious at this stage,” Victoria Police said in a statement to VICE.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire.

Burgertory owner Hash Tayeh, who opened the restaurant in 2018, is Palestinian-Australian and has been filmed vocally leading pro-Palestinian marches in Melbourne.

He has also been accused of anti-Semitism for his attendance at the rallies, where he chanted “'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. Tayeh posted two statements on these claims a week before the fire.

The 32-year old told the Daily Mail on Friday the attack was “arson”, and that it wouldn’t affect his “calling for peace”, or silence him.

“We are working closely with authorities to investigate this alarming incident, and we are determined to assist in every possible way,” he said.

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