AA / Istanbul / Mustafa Haboush
Supporters of Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv caused chaos in the Dutch capital Amsterdam following their team’s Europa League match against Ajax on Thursday evening.
Left-wing Israeli channel Canal 12 reported that clashes broke out in central Amsterdam between Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and pro-Palestinian sympathizers after Israeli fans tore down a Palestinian flag hanging from a building and taunted drivers Dutch taxi driver of Arab origin.
Several video clips relayed on social networks showed a large number of Israeli supporters chanting slogans hostile to Arabs and Palestinians.
Before the match kicked off, Israeli fans provoked their Dutch counterparts in the stands by refusing to observe a minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the devastating floods which devastated Spain.
Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters disrupted the minute of silence by setting off fireworks during this solemn moment, according to other video footage relayed on social networks.
For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that “10 Israelis were injured” in the clashes that followed the meeting, while “contact with two other citizens was lost.” ‘.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two planes to be sent to Amsterdam on Friday morning to rescue Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
According to KAN, Dutch authorities made 57 arrests in connection with these incidents.
In the same context, the Israeli army announced that it was preparing to send a delegation in coordination with the Dutch government to evacuate Israeli supporters from Amsterdam.
*Translated from Arabic by Majdi Ismail
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