“All the Israelis who were no longer heard from after the clashes in Amsterdam have been traced.” This was announced by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after contact with around ten fans was lost following the attacks last night at the end of the football match between Ajax and Maccabi, which the home team won 5-0.
According to the Foreign Ministry of the Jewish State, quoted by the Israeli media, ten fans Israelis were injured in attacks by an apparently pro-Palestinian crowd. Clashes broke out overnight in the center of the Dutch city and local authorities say they have carried out 57 arrests in total during the day.
“I feel ashamed for what happened. Those responsible will be prosecuted. The message I send to Israel is that I hope that Israelis still come to the Netherlands, we will do everything possible to make them feel safe.” Dutch Prime Minister Dirk Schoof said this when speaking to reporters in Budapest about the attack on the Israeli fans in Amsterdam. “After the football match, several people attacked Israeli fans, and that’s why I call it an anti-Semitic act. We can never say that it will never happen again, but what we can do is try to prevent it. This is what all the government’s efforts are aimed at. And again, I am deeply ashamed of what happened. I am disgusted by what happened and we will ensure that those responsible are prosecuted and brought to court,” Schoof stressed.
Meanwhile, the first flight with Israeli citizens evacuated from Amsterdam has landed in Tel Aviv. Israel – which considers “the atrocious incident with the utmost seriousness” – has in fact decided the immediate dispatch of two rescue planes “to help our citizens”.
“Yesterday we witnessed an outbreak of anti-Semitism in Amsterdam the likes of which we hoped to never see again.” He said it the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, at the press conference. “Anti-Semitism has never been far away” even after the Second World War, “the war in the Middle East now represents a threat to our city too”, she underlined, adding that she was “furious” about the attacks on the team’s fans Israeli. The person responsible speaks of “horrible and unacceptable acts of violence”. National Police of the Netherlands, Janny Knol.reporting dozens of arrests and inviting victims to report.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he condemned, during a phone call with the Dutch prime minister Disk Schoofwhat he described as “a premeditated attack” on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam. “Prime Minister Netanyahu – says a note from his office – has requested greater security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands”. Netanyahu invited “ad act decisively and quickly against rioters“.
The Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof he assured Netanyahu that “the culprits will be tracked down and prosecuted” and condemned the violence against Israeli fans as “anti-Semitic attacks”. Expected in Amsterdam The new head of Israeli diplomacy, Gideon Saar, will travel to Amsterdam for a “urgent diplomatic visit”.
“Hunting Jews does not mean defending the Palestinian people. In Europe there is no room for anti-Semitism. A shameful episode that takes us back to the dark times of Nazism. Solidarity with the Israelis attacked today in Amsterdam and with all the Jewish communities in the world”. He writes it on X Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Videos have been released online showing people with their faces covered and holding Palestinian flags attacking a Maccabi fan, who was defeated last night by Ajax in the Europa League. Some videos are also making the rounds on social media, also relaunched by the Instagram account ‘free.palestine.nl’in which several Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are seen tearing down Palestinian flags in Amsterdam, where the clashes occurred during the night. The ‘free.palestine.nl’ account is the same one that published the images of the clashes last night and is now involved in raising funds for the legal costs of the over 60 people arrested.
The King Willem-Alexander of Holland spoke this morning with the Israeli President Herzog to express his utmost firmness in condemning yesterday’s attacks, comparing them to his country’s failure to protect the Jews during the Shoah. We read it in the Dutch media. “We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during the Second World War, and last night we failed again,” the king said, also expressing deep indignation and promising that the Dutch government will do everything possible to ensure the safety of visitors and facilitate their safe return to Israel.
“A pogrom in the streets of Amsterdam. We have become the Gaza of Europe. Muslims with Palestinian flags hunting Jews, I will never accept that. The authorities will be held accountable for their failure to protect Israeli citizens.” The leader of the Dutch sovereignists writes it in X Geert Wilders. “It looks like a Jew hunt in the streets. Arrest and deport the multicultural scum who attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets,” adds Wilders.
The news of violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam is unbearable. We can’t accept it. Anyone who attacks Jews attacks all of us. Jews must be able to feel safe in Europe”. The German Chancellor writes this Olaf Scholz.
ANSA Agency Virtus Bologna-Maccabi tonight, escort service for the visiting team – News – Ansa.it High safety device. Young Jews: ‘Worried about tonight’s match in Bologna’ (ANSA) “I ask all those who have been demonizing everything Israeli or Jewish for months to firmly condemn last night’s violence. Or has it reached a point where this is no longer possible?” He writes it on X the Dutch rabbi Yanki Jacobs after the clashes during the night in Amsterdam.
“I am outraged by last night’s cowardly attacks against Israeli citizens in Amsterdam. I have just spoken to Prime Minister Schoof. I strongly condemn these unacceptable acts. Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Europe. And we are determined to fight all forms of hatred.” . The president of the European Commission writes it on X, Ursula von der Leyen.
“We wish to make it very clear that tonight’s attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans unequivocally represent acts of deliberate and targeted violence against Israelis as such and not a clash between fans for sporting reasons.” He underlines it the Israeli embassy in Rome.
THEformer Ajax playertoday of Galatasaray, Hakim Ziyech, with dual nationality, Dutch and Moroccan, shared the images of the hunt for Maccabi fans on his social networks, with the comment ‘And free Palestine again’. Furthermore, many of his social networks are recalling how, after yesterday’s very serious violence, great attention must be paid to the match that Maccabi will play in Istanbul, on the Besiktas pitch, on November 28th.
Pro-Palestine protest called in front of Amsterdam city hall
The pro-Palestine Instagram page free.palestine.nl, which yesterday first shared the alleged video of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tearing down a Palestinian flag near the Amsterdam stadium, has called for a protest in front of Amsterdam city hall in Stopera. The event will start soon.
Maccabi fan: ‘We were attacked with knives and sticks’
“The climate in the stadium was excellent: no clashes and no provocations, then when we went out and headed towards the center we found people waiting for us with knives and sticks.” Nimrod, an Israeli citizen who has lived in Amsterdam for over twenty years, tells ANSA.
“Now many families are locked in hotels, they don’t want to take a taxi or the metro, so we are organizing safe passages managed by the community to take all the families to their flight”, explains Nimrod who together with five other Israeli citizens is waiting for the press conference of the Amsterdam police.
Israeli fans say they are convinced they have been the victim of “an ambush”, accusing Dutch police of not doing enough to protect them. The Jerusalem Post underlines this, reporting some testimonies. The police “did not escort the Maccabi supporters to their hotels: they sold us so that the Arabs would lynch us”, says a fan who escaped the attack and arrived at Amsterdam airport wounded and bloodied. Another told a journalist that they ran him over and pointed a knife at him: “We were caught in an ambush… The police abandoned us.”
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Source: Ansa
I have been working as a journalist for over 10 years. In that time, I have covered the news from all corners of the world, and written about everything from politics to business.I’m now a full-time author, and my work can be found at Global happenings. My aim is to bring you up-to-date news and views on global affairs, in a format that is easy to read and understand.
