1 week ago
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November 9, 2024 | 11:24 am
TEMPO.CO, Amsterdam - Amsterdam banned demonstrations for three days from Friday after overnight attacks on Israeli soccer supporters by what the mayor called "antisemitic hit-and-run squads", and Israel sent planes to the Netherlands to fly fans home.
Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been "attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks" around the city, and that riot police intervened to protect them and escort them to hotels. At least five people were treated in hospital.
Videos on social media showed riot police in action, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Footage also showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans before Thursday evening's match.
"We saw a lot of demonstrations, a lot of people running. It was really, really terrifying," said Joni Pogrebetsy, an Israeli soccer fan in Amsterdam for the match.
Antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands since Israel launched its assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after the attacks on Israel by Hamas militants in October last year, with many Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hate mail.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government sent planes to the Netherlands to bring fans home, while foreign minister Gideon Saar flew to Amsterdam for impromptu meetings with the Dutch government and far-right leader Geert Wilders.
Amsterdam banned demonstrations through the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers in response to the unrest, which exposed deep anger over the Gaza-Israel conflict.
More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced in Israel's military offensive on Gaza, according to health officials there, launched after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages in the initial cross-border attack, according to Israel.
In Washington, U.S. President Biden condemned the attacks as "despicable" and said they "echo dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted". United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the violence in Amsterdam, a U.N. spokesperson said.
SECURITY TIGHTENED
Mayor Halsema said police had been taken by surprise after security services failed to flag the match against Ajax Amsterdam, traditionally identified as a Jewish club, as high-risk.
"Antisemitic hit-and-run squads" had managed to evade a force of around 200 officers, she said.
Security was tightened in the city, where a service was planned at a Jewish monument on Saturday to remember Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom against Jews across Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938.
One video verified by Reuters showed a group of men running near Amsterdam central station, chasing and assaulting other men as police sirens sounded.
Another verified video showed Maccabi fans setting off flares and chanting "Ole, ole, let the IDF win, we will fuck the Arabs", referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was "horrified by the anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens" and had assured Netanyahu by phone that "the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted".
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who he said had "expressed deep horror and shock".
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