what we know about violence against Israeli fans after a football match

Recap Fans of the Maccabi Tel-Aviv club were attacked and violently attacked after a match on Thursday evening. The day before, tensions already seemed to be rising after provocative acts on the part of certain Israeli supporters.

Clashes broke out in Amsterdam on the sidelines of a football match Thursday, November 7 in the evening between Ajax Amsterdam and the Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Several Israeli fans were injured and at least 62 people were arrested. Outraged reactions poured in from all over the world.

• Upstream tensions

As of Wednesday evening, the day before this Europa League match, incidents took place between the two camps in the streets of the Dutch capital.

“Maccabi fans removed a flag from a facade on Rokin (a street in the center of Amsterdam) and destroyed a taxi. A Palestinian flag was set on fire on the Dam »the city’s main square, Amsterdam’s police chief said Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, around a hundred Israeli supporters gathered in Dam Square, surrounded by a large police force, before heading to the Johan Cruyff stadium, in the southwest of the city.

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The Middle East Eye, quoted “Liberation” evokes a “Arab taxi driver” who was allegedly attacked “by what appears to be a crowd of Israeli supporters” Wednesday evening, and claims that the same day, “a group of Israeli supporters” had been filmed in Dam Square singing « Fuck you Palestine ». Other videos spotted by “Libération”, several videos show a large group of Maccabi supporters going down escalators singing in Hebrew: “Let the IDF win and screw the Arabs.” The American media NBC News cites songs from “death to the Arabs”.

A pro-Palestinian rally to condemn the arrival of the Israeli club was initially planned near the stadium but was moved a little further into the neighborhood by the town hall for security reasons.

Tensions also continued in the stadium since, reports BFMTV, the lining up of Israeli fans did not respect the minute of silence, held before kick-off in tribute to the victims of the deadly floods in Spain.

• Injuries and 62 arrests

Some 800 police officers were deployed for this football match, a significant number for Amsterdam. Despite this, the night following the football match was very eventful with violent incidents targeting Maccabi supporters in several places in the city, local authorities explained.

According to police chief Peter Holla, quoted by “le Parisien”, “The situation around the stadium was calm around 11 p.m. » But at 1 a.m., a large group of Maccabi supporters gathered in Dam Square, where they were attacked. Authorities reported people hitting Israeli supporters before fleeing, citing “hooligans on scooters”. The police chief says that “several serious assaults” took place “in various parts of the city”which complicated the action of the police.

“The police had to intervene on several occasions, protect Israeli supporters and escort them to their hotels. Despite the massive police presence in the city, Israeli fans were injured »authorities said.

Police reported five people briefly hospitalized and 62 arrests after the night’s clashes.

• Taxi drivers and young people on scooters suspected

The first elements of the investigation, reported by the Dutch media and cited by BFMTV, suggest that the suspects are mainly taxi drivers and young people who were traveling on scooters. The suspects allegedly used Telegram groups to communicate. On these channels, rumors suggested the presence of Israeli soldiers and agents of the Israeli intelligence services, the Mossad, among the procession of supporters.

• Police are investigating the footage

Images of Israeli supporters chanting racist slogans, or reaching out to tear down a pro-Palestinian flag brandished through a window on a major avenue in the city center, which they took to get to the stadium, circulated widely on Friday. on social networks.

In other videos, people are seen knocking Israeli fans to the ground and beating them.

“We have also seen these images and we are reviewing them, they are part of the investigation”a spokesperson for the Amsterdam police told AFP. “We’re trying to get the big picture.” of what happened, he added.

• Israel sends planes

Israel sent planes to repatriate Maccabi supporters. A first plane carrying Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam landed in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon. The head of Israeli diplomacy Gideon Saar was also due to urgently go to Amsterdam, his services said.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office also called on supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball section to avoid a club match on Friday in Italy, saying they feared “a wave of similar actions”.

• International outrage

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced a “terrible anti-Semitic attack”saying ” shame “while in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would consider “the appalling incident with the greatest seriousness”. He also ordered the Mossad to prepare an action plan to avoid violence during sporting events.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “shocked” by this violence, condemned “all forms of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia”.

Emmanuel Macron estimated that this violence “ recall the most shameful hours of history”and condemned them “firmly”.

THE “anti-Semitic attacks against Israeli football fans” in Amsterdam are “abject”reacted American President Joe Biden, according to which this “recalls the dark moments of history, when the Jews were persecuted”.

The head of British diplomacy David Lammy said “horrified by anti-Semitic attacks against Israeli citizens”.

The EU also expressed its indignation and Berlin judged “terrible and deeply shameful for us in Europe” the images of this violence.