Amsterdam bans protests for three days after violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans

() – Amsterdam has banned protests for three days after Israeli soccer fans were beaten and injured in violent clashes in the city overnight, which Dutch authorities condemned on Friday as anti-Semitic.

Dutch police said they had launched a major investigation into multiple incidents following Thursday night’s Europa League soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel and Ajax of the Netherlands.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said criminals on scooters chased Maccabi fans in “hit and run” attacks. “This is a terrible time for our city… I am very embarrassed by the behavior seen last night,” she said at a news conference Friday.

Amsterdam authorities said Friday morning that five injured Israeli soccer fans had been released from hospital, and 20 to 30 more people were slightly injured. In total, 63 individuals were arrested and 10 remain in custody, police said.

Amsterdam has implemented several additional security measures following Thursday’s riots. A ban on demonstrations was implemented in the city on Friday and will be in effect for three days until Sunday, according to Halsema. There will also be a greater police presence on the streets.

The mayor also announced a ban on “clothing that covers the face” and “carrying objects” that could lead to public order disturbances.

The mayor added that she wanted the city to be safe for Israeli soccer fans, safe for locals and “especially safe” for Jewish residents.

Tensions had been rising in the days leading up to Thursday night’s match with multiple videos on social media showing Maccabi fans singing songs containing anti-Arab slurs, praising Israeli military strikes in Gaza and shouting “fuck the Arabs.” . Other videos apparently filmed in Amsterdam show men tearing Palestinian flags off buildings. It’s unclear when those videos were filmed.

After the match, hundreds of Maccabi fans “were ambushed and attacked,” the Israeli embassy in the United States said on social media platform X, sharing a video of the violence.

One video shows a man being kicked while lying on the ground, while another video shows a man being beaten by another who shouts “Free Palestine” and “for the children, you son of a bitch.” has not yet been able to verify those videos.

Another video shows a man shouting “I’m not Jewish” as he is chased down the street, thrown to the ground and beaten.

Police have said the atmosphere in the stadium was relatively calm and fans left without incident after Ajax won the match 5-0, but several clashes were reported in the city center overnight.

The mayor added: “There can be tensions, there are many demonstrations and protests and we are always prepared for them, and of course, they are related to the situation in the Middle East and the ongoing war. But what happened last night was not a protest… It was a crime.”

“There is no excuse for the anti-Semitic behavior exhibited last night by rioters who actively sought out Israeli fans to attack and assault them,” local authorities in Amsterdam said on Friday, adding that police intervened several times to protect fans and escort them to their hotels. .

Police had previously said they had increased their presence in the city center on Wednesday night, citing “tensions” in several areas, a day before the match.

Officers “avoided a confrontation between a group of taxi drivers and a group of visitors coming from the adjacent casino” on Wednesday, police said in a statement on X, pointing to another incident, in which a Palestinian flag was torn down in the center of Amsterdam by unknown perpetrators.

On Thursday, pro-Palestinian protesters tried to reach the Johan Cruyff stadium, although the city had banned them from protesting there, Reuters reported.

Kobi Elyahu, an Israeli soccer fan returning to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Friday night, described the attacks on Israelis as “very scary” and “like the 1940s.” He said he saw people locking themselves in hotels to escape, people throwing water and others “driving” and “trampling” the victims.

Most of the fans were calm upon their arrival in Tel Aviv. “It’s not a pleasant experience, it’s a bad experience,” said one man. “We are going to Amsterdam on vacation and to a game. “We never thought it would be this situation.” Some fans showed up to greet the returnees, shouting racist soccer chants: “Let the IDF win, we’ll fuck the Arabs. Ole, ole, ole. There are no schools in Gaza, there are no children left there.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof called the attacks “terrible” and “horrible” while speaking to reporters on Friday.

“There are always problems around football matches, and football matches regarding the Israeli team also get special attention from the police, but the things that happened last night are just terrible, horrible,” he said, before adding that he was “totally ashamed” that this had happened in the Netherlands.

“This is completely unacceptable. “I am in close contact with all parties involved and have just spoken with (Israel Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu by phone to emphasize that the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted,” he said, adding: “The situation in Amsterdam is now calm once further”.

On Friday, Netanyahu received a report from the country’s Foreign Ministry on efforts to return Israeli citizens from Amsterdam. During the meeting, Netanyahu compared anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans to Kristallnacht, or Kristallnacht, when the Nazi regime attacked Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues and homes across Germany in 1938.

“Tomorrow, 86 years ago, was Kristallnacht, an attack on Jews, whoever they may be, on European soil. It’s back now, seen yesterday on the streets of Amsterdam. That’s what happened. There is only one difference: in the middle, the Jewish state has been established. We have to deal with it,” Netanyahu said, according to a government statement.

In another statement from his office, Netanyahu urged Dutch authorities to “act firmly and quickly against the rioters and ensure peace for our citizens.” Israel also organized evacuation flights on commercial aircraft for some Israeli citizens.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar traveled to the Netherlands after the attacks, which he condemned as “barbaric and anti-Semitic” and called “a strident wake-up call for Europe and the world.”

Following a meeting with senior Dutch officials on Friday, Sa’ar stressed that Israel expected criminal proceedings against Thursday’s perpetrators. “We expect arrests, we expect severe punishment,” Sa’ar said in a statement.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by the violence in Amsterdam, adding that he condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bigotry, U.N. spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay said during a news conference Friday.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also said in a statement on Friday that it “condemns the anti-Arab chants by the Israelis and the attacks on the symbology of the Palestinian flag in Amsterdam,” and also called on the Dutch government to “protect Palestinians and Arabs.” in the Netherlands.

The Palestinian Football Association also issued a statement saying it is “gravely concerned by the sequence of violent events in Amsterdam,” accusing Maccabi Tel Aviv fans of “incitement to violence, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia.”

Israel’s National Security Council urged citizens to avoid affiliated basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv’s game on Friday night against Virtus Bologna in Italy.

Israel’s foreign ministry is reviewing security for Israelis living abroad and for all future sporting events by Israeli teams in Europe, including improving cooperation with local authorities, an Israeli official told .

Following the incident in Amsterdam, some people in France have called for next week’s match between the French and Israeli national soccer teams to be relocated.

This story and headline have been updated with additional details.

‘s Matthew Chance, Kareem Khadder, Niamh Kennedy and Lauren Izso contributed to this report.