Israel's new Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, judged the number of arrests in Amsterdam on Monday “very low” after the violence which broke out there on the sidelines of a football match Thursday evening.
“I was informed by the Mayor of Amsterdam about the formation of a special investigation team, but I can say that so far the number of arrests is very low“, declared Mr. Saar during a press conference. Israel offered its help in the investigation into this violence, he said.
Dutch police have reported around sixty arrests after the violence which occurred on the sidelines of the match between Ajax Amsterdam and the Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Between 20 and 30 Maccabi fans were injured after being attacked by groups of individuals who, according to Dutch police, had responded to a call to target Jews launched on social media.
These clashes occurred in a context of increasing anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli acts since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas a little over a year ago in the Gaza Strip.
“It's an explosion of anti-Semitism that I hope I never see again“, said Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who said she had “shame” of this violence.
The match took place on Thursday in a generally calm atmosphere, even if some Israeli supporters did not respect the minute of silence in memory of the victims of the floods in Spain, a country which recently recognized the State of Palestine.
In a video posted on social networks, the origin of which could not be verified, what appeared to be fans of the Maccabi club sang songs in Hebrew hostile to the Palestinians.
