• Five in hospital, 62 arrested; European and Israeli leaders quick to voice concern
• Maccabi supporters chant racist slogans, tear down Palestinian flags

AMSTERDAM: Five people were hospitalised and 62 arrested after unprecedented violence, centered around supporters of an Israeli football club, erupted in the Dutch capital following a fixture against home team Ajax.

The clashes, which have been dubbed ‘anti-Semitic attacks’ by Dutch PM Dick Schoof, were reportedly provoked by fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv, the club that lost Thursday’s match 5-0.

Footage from the stadium during the game also showed Maccabi fans jeering and whistling during a minute’s silence for those killed in floods in Valencia.

According to BBC News, videos posted to social media sites showed Maccabi Tel Aviv fans chanting racist slogans about Arabs and Palestine, as well as climbing on a building to tear down a Palestinian flag on display. The outlet quoted social media users as saying the videos were from before the attacks on Israelis.

A fan who attended the game with Ajax said Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were seen on the Amsterdam metro “going up and down the carriages three or four times looking for a fight”.

“Everyone was going into the city so everyone knew what was going to happen,” the fan told BBC News.

The fan BBC spoke to said he was “shocked by the portrayal” of the incident in the media, adding that the attacks were “completely provoked” and Palestinian flags were “torn down the night before”.

At a presser, Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla said the events of the last 36 hours “really shocked” him. He said fans had already had minor scuffles on Wednesday night, 24 hours before the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Supporters of the Israeli club had torn down a flag, destroyed a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag on the city’s main square on Wednesday night, he said.

Police had to intervene to prevent clashes between Israeli fans and taxi drivers at a casino, but officers escorted the Israelis away and “major confrontation was avoided,” said Holla.

He then said that following the match on Thursday evening, Maccabi supporters faced “hit-and-run” attacks as they were walking through the city centre.

Speaking about reports of missing Israeli supporters, he said the police have “no information that there are abductions or missing people”, but they will treat these reports seriously and investigate them.

In the wake of the violence, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said emergency measures had been put in place for the entire city, allowing police to carry out searches and place a ban on demonstrations. Face coverings will also be banned, BBC News reported.

A reporter subsequently cha­­llenged her version of eve­nts, asking about the Pales­tinian flag being burnt and videos showing Israeli fans chanting racist slogans against Arabs, saying the mayor was “not describing this context” and that the incidents are “part of the story” not being told.

Defending her words, the mayor claimed she did describe the context, but added that “What happened last night is not a protest. It has nothing to do with protest or demonstration”.

Israeli evacuation

Following the violence in Amsterdam, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two planes be sent to the Netherlands to bring the Israeli fans home, with the first flight of evacuees landing on Friday afternoon, the Israel Airports Authority said.

Netanyahu also ordered Israel’s Mossad spy agency to draw up a plan to prevent unrest at sporting events in the future.

European and Israeli leaders were quick to condemn the violence, describing it as “anti-Semitic attack” and a “pogrom”.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen also said she was “outraged” by “vile attacks targeting Israeli citizens in Amsterdam”.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2024