Amsterdam fears another night of riots as it fights anti-Semitism and violence

() – Amsterdam police were bracing Tuesday for another night of unrest as the Dutch capital grapples with anti-Semitic violence that began with attacks on visiting Israeli soccer fans last week.

The Dutch capital was placed under emergency measures last Friday, following clashes that broke out after Thursday night’s soccer match between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch team Ajax.

Most protests have been banned and the police presence in the city has been reinforced, but violence has not decreased.

Amsterdam Police Chief Olivier Dutilh said his force was preparing for another turbulent night on Tuesday. “There are calls for a similar situation in the west of Amsterdam. It’s happening right now. There are calls for women and children to stay home. “That worries us.”

Clashes broke out shortly after 7pm on Monday in western Amsterdam, where a tram was set on fire, windows were smashed and police officers were attacked with stones.

Videos posted on social media show people shouting anti-Semitic insults as pyrotechnics were set off inside the tram, breaking a window and causing the vehicle to catch fire. Three people were arrested, police said. One person in the group was injured by the fireworks and was treated at the scene.

Later on Monday, a passing cyclist was knocked off his bike and attacked, receiving severe blows to the head, police said, adding that the suspect was detained while other rioters threw rocks at officers.

Police said the area was largely quiet at 11 p.m., although a police bus near the scene was set on fire around 3:30 a.m.

Violence erupted on Monday after more than 50 people were arrested at a banned pro-Palestinian rally in central Amsterdam on Sunday.

The emergency measures will be in effect at least until Thursday. In addition to banning protests, the city also prohibited people from wearing masks when “accompanied by possible disturbances of public order.”

Amsterdam’s local government said a demonstration about Gaza scheduled for Tuesday received an exemption from the protest ban, although it will take place in a park far from the city center.

Additional security measures have been granted to the city’s Jewish institutions.

Tensions had been rising in the run-up to Thursday night’s match, with multiple videos on social media showing Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab insults, praising Israeli military strikes in Gaza and shouting “f**k you.” *n the Arabs.”

The day before the game, Maccabi fans tore down flags and vandalized a taxi, according to Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla. They also set fire to a Palestinian flag, he added.

That same afternoon, a call for the mobilization of taxi drivers appeared on the Internet, many of whom headed to a casino where there were 400 Maccabi fans, Holla continued. Police escorted the Israeli fans out of the casino safely, but there was still some disturbance around the casino, he added.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema revealed on Monday that in light of the violence, the city and police had considered canceling Thursday’s match, but found no legal grounds to do so. He said police believed canceling the match could make the situation uncontrollable, given the large number of supporters already in the city.

Describing Thursday’s violence as an “outbreak of anti-Semitism,” Halsema referred to “Telegram groups where people talked about hunting Jews.”

“It’s so shocking, so reprehensible that I still can’t get over it. It is a shame,” he said at a press conference at Amsterdam City Hall last Friday.

According to police, 62 people, including 10 Israeli citizens, were detained Thursday in connection with the violence. On Monday, police reported they had made six more arrests since then as they identified more suspects.

Four people – two minors aged 16 and 17 and two men aged 19 and 26 – remained detained as of Tuesday, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

‘s Eugenia Yosef, Edward Szekeres, Lauren Kent Mick Krever and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.