Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered two ‘rescue planes’ to be sent to the Netherlands after Israeli football supporters were attacked in Amsterdam city centre on Thursday evening.
Tensions were running high in the Dutch capital throughout Thursday as 3,000 Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attended their club’s Europa League match against Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, had banned a pro-Palestine demonstration planned near the stadium ahead of the game due to the likelihood that the event would spark violence.
On Wednesday evening, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were filmed cheering as a large Palestinian flag was taken down from a building in the city centre, while a clash between fans and a group of taxi drivers was also reported.
One person who attended the pro-Palestine demonstration before police intervened told Dutch broadcaster AT5 that the video which showed Maccabi Tel Aviv fans removing the Palestinian flag had ’caused a lot of anger’.
On Thursday night, Ajax fans were angered moments before kick-off inside Johan Cruyff Arena as Maccabi Tel Aviv’s supporters disrupted a minute’s silence which was held in memory of the victims of the deadly floods in Valencia.
Dutch police escorted Maccabi Tel Aviv’s supporters from the stadium to busses and train stations after the match but several videos on social media have emerged which show isolated Israelis being attacked on the streets.
In one video, one man cowering on the floor is heard pleading, ‘I’ll give you money, please go’, while the person standing over him shouts, ‘free Palestine, you want to kill kids?’.
In another video, a man is laying motionless on the pavement while he is kicked by two different people.
A 30-year-old Maccabi Tel Aviv supporter told Israeli outlet Ynet: ‘They are everywhere. No police, complete chaos. Everything was pre-arranged. The police here abandoned us.
‘Every fourth person walking the street is a Muslim who has come to attack Jews. Me and several hundred other fans are besieged in the hotel, the police don’t allow us to leave. They just want to fly home.’
A statement from Netanyahu’s office confirmed that two passenger planes are being sent to Amsterdam to help Israelis travel home.
‘The Prime Minister views this horrific incident with great severity and demands that the Dutch government and security forces act firmly and quickly against the rioters, and ensure the safety of our citizens,’ the statement added.
FlightRadar shows two planes en route from Tel Aviv to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam which are due to land shortly before 8am local time on Friday morning.
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A Dutch police spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday evening that 57 arrests had been made before the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv had ended.
‘There were some riots between people on and around Dam Square,’ the police spokeswoman said.
‘That is difficult for us to determine, because we cannot judge who they belong to based on their clothing or appearance.’
Israel’s incoming Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, wrote on X: ‘We are in contact with the authorities in the Netherlands about the serious events there. Any Israeli or Jew who is currently in distress or has information and location about a violent event that is currently taking place – please contact the emergency hotline: 0097225303155.’
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, wrote on X: ‘We are receiving very disturbing reports of extreme violence against Israelis and Jews on the streets of Holland.
‘There is a pogrom currently taking place in Europe in 2024. These are the true faces of the supporters of the radical terrorism we are fighting. The western world needs to wake up now!! This is the time when the UN should immediately and clearly condemn the violence of the Palestinians and their supporters. The Dutch authorities must take decisive action against terrorism now.’
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