Five hospitalizations and 62 arrests
Clashes broke out overnight from Thursday to Friday in the center of Amsterdam following a Europa League match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Amsterdam police said they made 62 arrests overnight during clashes after a football match. At least five people were injured and had to be hospitalized, she also said. Victims are asked to report to the police.
The Amsterdam police also indicate that they have been informed of a “possible hostage-taking and missing persons” but without confirming that “this actually took place”. “This aspect is also the subject of an investigation,” she specifies.
Two Israeli rescue planes dispatched to the site
Benjamin Netanyahu announced this Friday the “immediate dispatch of two relief planes” to provide assistance to Israeli supporters. The first plane intended to repatriate Israeli citizens from Amsterdam took off Friday morning from Ben Gurion Airport and was expected in Amsterdam early in the afternoon. The Israeli Transport Minister asked her Dutch counterpart to ensure “safe transportation” of Israeli citizens to the airport.
The Israeli army, for its part, indicated that it was preparing “a relief mission” including a cargo plane as well as medical teams.
Important police force
According to the Dutch police, a large network was deployed throughout the day to secure the event. “A large number of vehicles from the mobile unit are present and reinforcements have also been called. Young people also allegedly provoked the police,” described local media AT5. Police protected and escorted Israeli supporters to their hotel, according to footage shared by AT5.
The Amsterdam police indicated on Thursday that they were “particularly vigilant” on its X account, after reporting several incidents, including a Palestinian flag torn from a facade “by unknown persons”.
In the afternoon, around a hundred Israeli supporters gathered on Dam Square, surrounded by a large police force, before going to the Johan Cruyff stadium, in the southwest of the Dutch capital.
Following the incidents, local authorities said they had strengthened security in the city, with the deployment of “additional police officers” to “monitor and control the situation”. “Particular attention is also paid to the security of Jewish institutions and objects.”
Pro-Palestinian rally
A pro-Palestinian rally condemning the arrival of the Israeli club was initially planned near the stadium, but was moved a little further into the neighborhood by Amsterdam town hall for security reasons.
These incidents come at a time when Israel is waging bloody wars in Palestine and Lebanon in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli territory.
“Premeditated anti-Semitic attack”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced this Friday as a “premeditated anti-Semitic attack” the violence suffered by Israeli supporters. In a telephone conversation with his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof, Netanyahu “said he viewed the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with seriousness and called for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands,” the statement said. his office. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, for his part, denounced an “anti-Semitic pogrom”.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced “anti-Semitic attacks against Israelis” in Amsterdam this Friday morning, calling them “unacceptable” on his X account. “I am in close contact with all those concerned. Netanyahu insisted that the perpetrators of these acts must be sought out and prosecuted,” Schoof said.
The new Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, who was sworn in during the night in front of Parliament, spoke with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp. According to his services, “he underlined the seriousness with which Israel regards the large-scale violent attacks against its citizens in Amsterdam during the night” and requested that the Dutch authorities ensure the security of supporters for their transfer to the airport.
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