Fireworks were thrown, vehicles were stoned and a tram set on fire during a new episode of violence in Amsterdam this Monday, November 11. Dutch police reported three arrests.
Four days after the attacks targeting Israeli supporters on the sidelines of the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Amsterdam was once again marked by violence this Monday, November 11 in the evening. Although no injuries were reported, several dozen people caused material damage.
• A tram burned, vehicles stoned
Around 7:15 p.m., on Plein '40-'45 square in Amsterdam, several dozen people, some armed with sticks, began to “cause a nuisance”, according to the Dutch police. They notably threw fireworks and projectiles at the cars.
A GVB tram was targeted: a fire broke out inside. Its windows were broken. A bus was also targeted by stone throwing.
“A large group of people are causing a disturbance and throwing fireworks, among other things. This caused a tram to catch fire,” the police wrote on X.
According to a journalist from the daily Parool, a cyclist was targeted. A man knocked him off his bike before hitting him. “People are excited, the police really saved me,” he told this reporter.
• At least three arrests
Dutch police said the Mobile Unit had been mobilized to the scene to restore calm. Videos show tense clashes between rioters and police. Stones were thrown at the police who managed to put an end to the violence around 10 p.m. According to Dutch media, a police helicopter flew over the area for a long time.
“To avoid any escalation and restore calm, the police are present around Plein 40-45,” the police said on X before claiming to have “made arrests”.
Three people were arrested according to local media and further arrests cannot be ruled out.
The police indicated around 11 p.m. that “peace” on Place Plein '40-'45 had “returned”.
“The police remain firmly present and have opened an investigation to determine those responsible for this violence,” it is indicated.
• Violence which did not cause any victims
Despite the fire on the tram, no injuries were reported, since the train was empty at the time of the incident. A “miracle”, according to a spokesperson for the Amsterdam public transport company GVB. A person was injured while lighting a firework and was treated at the scene.
• Tensions despite an emergency decree
While it is not yet known whether these unrest have a link to last week's violence, they occurred while an emergency decree is in force in the city.
While an emergency debate is to be held this Tuesday in the municipal council on the subject of this violence on the sidelines of the match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, the unrest of Monday evening will probably also be mentioned, according to a door -speaker of Mayor Femke Halsema, quoted by the media Volkskrant.
The city's mayor said last week's riots were born from a “toxic cocktail of anti-Semitism, hooligan behavior and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel.”
Between 20 and 30 Maccabi supporters were injured on the night of Thursday November 7 to Friday November 8 after being attacked by groups of individuals who, according to Dutch police, had responded to a call to target Jews launched on social networks. The police said on Monday that they had arrested “five suspects in the vast investigation into violent incidents on the sidelines of the Ajax-Maccabi football match”.
“The suspects are men aged 18 to 37 and come from Amsterdam, Heerhugowaard and Utrecht. Four of them are still in police custody,” she said at the time.
