In the middle of the morning, Sunday November 10, there were only ten of them, shawls around their necks and a flag in the colors of Palestine on their backs, gathered in front of a few police officers on the Dam, the main square of the Dutch capital. . They hoped to express their support for the victims in Gaza, despite the violent incidents that occurred on Thursday, November 7 following a football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Some 3,000 supporters of the Israeli team were present in the city, where fights broke out in various places, despite the presence of around 800 police officers.
Frank van der Linde, one of the leaders of the pro-Palestinian movement, had lodged an emergency appeal to obtain authorization to march at 2 p.m. on Sunday, despite the town hall’s announcement on Friday of a ban on all gatherings. A judge, however, rejected the activist’s appeal, confirming that the measure decreed by municipal authorities would remain in effect for several days. Considering that “the risk of clashes still exists”the magistrate relied in particular on information from the police, according to which people had again been forced, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, to prove that they were not Israeli in order to escape small groups of violent individuals.
“We have to come back to what we really need to talk about: the genocide in Gaza. We are really tired of appearing to be anti-Semites. Yes, there have been anti-Semitic incidents, but comparing them to a pogrom is completely unfounded.”explained Mr. van der Linde, referring to comments made on Friday by the highest Israeli authorities, as well as by Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV, far right), member of the ruling coalition in The Hague .
Thursday’s fights left five injured, who were quickly released from the hospital. On Saturday, all Maccabi supporters returned to Israel. Four individuals, including two minors, were still in custody and were to be presented to a judge, while a special police team examined all available images to identify other perpetrators of the violence. Lawyer Adem Çatbas, for his part, launched an invitation to make himself known to all those who have been victims of “violence, incitement to hatred, insults and threats” allegedly committed by Israeli supporters.
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