Amsterdam police arrested pro-Palestinian protesters at banned demonstrations
Police arrested dozens of people on Sunday for taking part in a protest in central Amsterdam that was banned following violence against fans of an Israeli soccer club, local media reported.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema banned all weekend protests after horrific scenes of youths on motorbikes and on foot attacking Maccabi Tel Aviv fans on Thursday and Friday in what has been widely condemned as a violent religious outburst in the Dutch capital.
On Sunday afternoon, the municipality, together with the Amsterdam police and the public prosecutor's office, extended the ban on demonstrations until Thursday morning.
Israel's embassy in the Netherlands said 2,000 Israelis were sent home on special flights from Amsterdam in the past few days.
Reports of violence on both sides
Before the match with Ajax, Maccabi fans also tore the Palestinian flag from the building in Amsterdam and chanted anti-Arab slogans when they went to the stadium. It was also reported that Maccabi fans started fighting.
The Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool reported that around 100 people were arrested, while the media said they were taken by bus. The police confirmed that they arrested the protesters, but did not release the numbers.
Protesters chanted slogans including “Free, free Palestine.”
The municipality of Amsterdam said in X that the police have started arresting protesters who refuse to leave the square, which is in the center of the city of shops near the site of the canal network.
The promoters of the protest went to court on Sunday morning seeking a ban on the protest, but the judge agreed with the ban imposed by the municipality.
At the hearing, Amsterdam police chief Olivier Dutilh said there were also incidents at night against people believed to be Jewish, including some being ordered out of taxis and others being asked to show their passports to prove their citizenship.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof says he was 'ashamed' of the violence seen in Amsterdam overnight after a football match between the Dutch and Israeli teams. Schoof, who was in Hungary for a summit of EU leaders, said the perpetrators would be prosecuted.
Police launched a major investigation on Friday after youth gangs carried out what the mayor of Amsterdam called a “hit and run” attack on fans apparently inspired by calls on social media to target Jews. Five people were treated in hospitals and more than 60 suspects were arrested.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rushed to the Netherlands on Friday and offered Israel's help in the police investigation. He met Saturday with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and said in a statement that the attacks and demands to show passports “remind the darkest times in history.”
In France, Paris police said on Sunday that 4,000 officials and 1,600 stadium workers will be deployed to the France-Israel soccer match on Thursday to ensure security in and around the stadium and in public transport.
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