Israel to send planes to Amsterdam after violence against Israeli football fans
Israel sent two planes to bring back fans of Israel's soccer team to the Netherlands on Friday after overnight street attacks that officials described as anti-Semitic.
Videos circulating on social media show police protesting and intervening in street clashes, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were “attacked, harassed and had explosives thrown at them” and said riot police had to intervene several times to protect them and escort them to hotels.
In a statement on social media, Amsterdam police said “five people were taken to the hospital and 62 people were arrested,” without providing details of the injuries, or who was arrested.
Antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands have been on the rise since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas, with many Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hate mail.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the order to send the planes was taken after a “very violent incident” against Israeli citizens after the match between Maccabi and Ajax Amsterdam, which is often identified as a Jewish team.
An eyewitness captured video confirmed by Reuters showing a group of men running near Amsterdam Central Station, chasing and beating other men, as police sirens blared.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was “shocked by the attack on Israeli citizens,” which he called “absolutely unacceptable.”
Schoof assured Netanyahu by phone that “the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted,” he said in a statement on social media X.
Many were arrested
Police said 57 suspects were arrested after the game as pro-Palestinian protesters tried to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena, although the city had banned a demonstration there.
They said the fans left the stadium without any incident after the Europa League match, which Ajax won 5-0, but there was noise in the city center at night.
President Isaac Herzog was one of Israel's top politicians who said the violence was reminiscent of Israel's attacks by Hamas gunmen last year and the centuries-old persecution of European Jews.
The attack appeared to be planned, the report said
“We see with shock this morning, shocking images and videos from October 7, we hoped we would never see again: the anti-Semitic pogrom that took place against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam,” he wrote in X.
Israel's biggest selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted Israeli supporters as saying the attack appeared to be premeditated.
The Israeli military said it was sending cargo planes to the Netherlands as well as medical and rescue teams in cooperation with the Dutch government.
I have been following the news from Amsterdam and am appalled by the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens. This is totally unacceptable. I am in contact with all those involved and have just spoken to them @IsraelPM Netanyahu by phone to emphasize that the perpetrators will…
The war in Gaza has sparked bipartisan protests across Europe and the United States, and Jews and Arabs have been attacked.
In March, Herzog's opening of a new Holocaust museum in Amsterdam led to violent protests by pro-Palestinian activists.
More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 102,000 injured during Israel's assault on Gaza following a Hamas-led offensive, according to health officials in the area, after the Palestinian terror group killed about 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 250, according to to Israel.
