Israeli and Dutch leaders have condemned ‘anti-Semitic’ clashes that erupted after a Europa League football match in Amsterdam overnight, with Israel sending rescue planes to bring home their citizens following the ‘very violent incident’.
The Israeli embassy in the United States said ‘hundreds’ of Maccabi fans were ‘ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam tonight as they left the stadium following a game’, blaming the incident on a ‘mob who targeted innocent Israelis’.
Shocking video shows Israeli fans being violently beaten on the streets late last night, with reports that assailants shouted ‘free Palestine’ during the attacks.
Ten Israelis were hospitalized and three were reported to be out of contact with their families following the hours of violence, which saw people out in the Dutch capital forced to seek shelter in shops.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that two planes were being sent to bring Israelis home safely, and urged people to stay in their hotels until help arrived.
The situation calmed by this morning, Dutch authorities said, adding that dozens of arrests had been made.
Protesters run during a pro-Palestinian demonstration during the Ajax – Maccabi Tel-Aviv match in Amsterdam
A protester with a Palestinian flag and Mobile Unit (ME) during a pro-Palestinian demonstration during Ajax – Maccabi Tel-Aviv at Anton de Komplein
The violence flared after the game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and home team Ajax, which won 5-0.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the ‘completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis’.
‘I followed with horror the coverage from Amsterdam,’ Schoof wrote on X, adding that he had spoken with Netanyahu to assure him that ‘the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted’.
Netanyahu’s office said he told Schoof that he ‘views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands’, his office said.
Dutch media AT5 said the clashes occurred around midnight. Social media platforms were flooded with unverified images purported to be of the violence, but confirmed details of the clashes were few.
AT5 said that numerous fights, as well as acts of vandalism, had occurred in the city centre.
‘A large number of mobile unit vehicles are present and reinforcements have also been called in,’ it said.
Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv stage a pro-Israel demonstration at the Dam Square, lighting up flares and chanting slogans ahead of the UEFA Europa League match
Police arrested a man at De Dam for possession of fireworks
A Dutch police spokesperson said that 57 people had been arrested.
Israeli authorities urged their citizens in Amsterdam to stay in their hotels and avoid showing Israeli or Jewish symbols if they do go outside.
The army said it was coordinating a ‘rescue mission’ with cargo aircraft and medical and rescue teams.
Israel’s new foreign minister Gideon Saar said in a statement that he had requested the Dutch government’s assistance in ensuring Israeli citizens’ safe exit from their hotels to the airport.
Images on AT5 showed Dutch police escorting fans back to their hotels.
On Thursday, Amsterdam police said on social media that they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building.
A pro-Palestinian rally demonstrating against the Israeli football club’s visit was initially scheduled to take place near the stadium but was relocated by the Amsterdam city council for security reasons.
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