N24: Australian police said on Monday they had stepped up patrols of Jewish and Islamic sites, fearing that racial tensions over the Middle East conflict triggered attacks on a synagogue and a mosque.New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma said authorities would not tolerate racial violence, as community groups appealed for calm.”We will deal severely with anyone who attempts to take matters into their own hands by attacking places of worship,” said Iemma.

“The tragic events that are taking place in the Middle East are not a reason for people to take the law into their own hands in this city.”

The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said there had been a rise in incidents of anti-Semitism, including graffiti and abusive phone calls and e-mails, since Israel launched its offensive against the militant group Hezbollah almost three weeks ago.

Witnesses told police they saw a group of “Middle Eastern men” laughing and running down the street shortly after the synagogue in Parramatta, western Sydney was stoned late on Sunday.

Blocks of concrete were also thrown at two cars parked on the property, smashing windows. Earlier this month, a synagogue in the Sydney beach suburb of Coogee was vandalized.

On Saturday night a window was smashed in a Sydney mosque, Iemma said, without giving further details.

“We feel very strongly that no mosque, church or synagogue anywhere should be attacked and it is of great concern when there are elements within our society who choose to bring the issues of the Middle East into the streets of Australia,” said the board’s chief executive Vic Alhadeff.

The attack on the synagogue on Sunday occurred just a few hours after Israel’s strike on the Lebanese village of Qana, which killed more than 50 civilians including 30 children.

Rabbi Yosef Wernick said he feared the Israeli offensive in Lebanon may have prompted the attack. “It’s a great shame to bring that conflict to here,” he said.

Wernick said he was considering stepping up security at his home next door to the synagogue.

Senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj Aldin Alhilali condemned the synagogue attack. “This is a very bad action,” he told reporters. “Australia is the land of peace.”

Anger over the conflict spilled onto the streets of the western city of Perth on Saturday, when Middle Eastern protesters carrying Lebanese and Palestinian flags surrounded Prime Minister John Howard’s car during an official engagement.

Protesters, who scuffled with police during the demonstration, said the government was not doing enough to broker peace in the region.

More than 160? 000 Australians claim Lebanese ancestry. Some 25? 000 dual Australian-Lebanese nationals live in Lebanon.