Dutch mobile Police officers were deployed to maintain order in the city center after several scuffles erupted following a UEFA Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam. The clashes were described as antisemitic by officials.
Israel dispatched two planes to bring back fans of the Israeli soccer team from the Netherlands on Friday, in response to overnight attacks in the streets. Videos circulating on social media depicted riot police intervening in street clashes, with some attackers hurling anti-Israeli slurs. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema reported that Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were 'attacked, abused, and pelted with fireworks,' necessitating multiple interventions by riot police to protect and escort them to hotels.
Antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands have surged since Israel's assault on Gaza, which followed the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian Hamas group. Many Jewish organizations and schools have reported threats and hate mail. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that the decision to send planes was made after 'a very violent incident' targeting Israeli citizens following the match between Maccabi and Ajax Amsterdam, traditionally associated with Jewish heritage.
An eyewitness video verified by Reuters showed a group of men running near Amsterdam central station, chasing and assaulting others as police sirens blared. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof expressed horror at the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens, calling them 'completely unacceptable.' Schoof assured Netanyahu by phone that 'the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted,' according to a statement on the social media platform X.
Anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders, leader of the largest party in the Dutch government, said he was 'ashamed that this can happen in the Netherlands.' Police detained 57 suspects after the game as pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena, despite a city ban on protests there. The clashes erupted overnight in the city center after fans had left the stadium without incident following Ajax's 5-0 victory in the Europa League match.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other senior politicians likened the violence to the Hamas attack on Israel last year and the pogroms of previous centuries. Herzog wrote on X, 'We see with horror this morning, the shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an anti-Semitic pogrom currently taking place against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam.'
Israel's largest-selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted Israeli fans alleging that the attacks appeared to have been planned. The Israeli military announced it was sending cargo aircraft to the Netherlands along with medical and rescue teams in coordination with the Dutch government. The Gaza war has sparked protests in support of both sides across Europe and the United States, with both Jews and Arabs being targeted.
Over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and 102,000 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack, according to health officials in the enclave. The Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
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