Scenes of great violence took place Thursday evening in Amsterdam (Netherlands), on the sidelines of the football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Palestinian flags torn down, Israeli supporters beaten… Five people were hospitalized and 62 arrested.
Incidents which worry a few days before a France-Israel match at the Stade de France.
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The 1 p.m.
A surge of violence in the streets of Amsterdam (Netherlands) which arouses indignation. Serious incidents broke out on Thursday evening on the sidelines of the Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel-Aviv. In the report at the top of this article, we can see Israeli supporters pursued and violently beaten in the city center. One of them is surrounded and punched before falling, KO
Earlier, unidentified individuals had torn down Palestinian flags from the facades of certain buildings. Among the 3,000 supporters of the Tel Aviv club, heavily protected by the police, some sang anti-Palestinian chants in the street: “Let the Israeli army win and the Arabs, fuck off.”
“We have nothing to do with the war”
After the meeting, the situation escalates. Hooded, masked men shouting “Free Palestine” chase Israeli supporters. In an emergency, the Israeli embassy ordered supporters to take refuge in their hotels. More than 60 people were arrested Thursday evening.
Friday, in downtown Amsterdam, two Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, Israeli flags on their backs, do not understand what happened: “We have nothing to do with the war. We just came to support our team and this is what we get. The police came much too late. They arrived when many people were already injured. Several must still be in the hospital.”
As an exceptional measure, the Israeli company El Al chartered two free commercial flights on Friday morning. Our team was also able to observe in Amsterdam a strengthening of security at the airport with a greater police presence than usual, especially at the boarding gate for the next flight to Tel Aviv.
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In France, these events are taken very seriously while a France-Israel match must take place at the Stade de France in six days. And I want to ensure that a football match, even if it is France-Israel, can take place under normal conditions. 2,500 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized around the stadium for this meeting classified as high risk. This match will actually take place next Thursday. Disruptions on one of the busiest railway lines in Europe.
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