AMSTERDAM – The leaders of Israel and the Netherlands on Friday condemned what they called anti-Semitic attacks on fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team before and after the club’s Europa League soccer match with Ajax, and Israel said it was sending planes to fly fans home. . the capital of the Dutch.
The violence broke out on Thursday despite a ban on a pro-Palestinian protest near the football stadium by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who feared clashes between protesters and supporters of an Israeli football club.
Amsterdam police did not immediately comment on the violence or the numbers of arrests and injuries. A spokesperson for Halsema said the municipality is preparing the statement.
The details were still unclear, but Israel ordered two planes to be sent to the Dutch capital to bring the Israelis home.
“The Prime Minister has ordered the immediate dispatch of two rescue planes to help the civilians,” said a statement from Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
It added that “the brutal images of the attack on our citizens in Amsterdam cannot be ignored,” and that Netanyahu “is taking this horrific incident very seriously.” He demanded that the Dutch government take “strong and swift action” against those involved.
Netanyahu’s office added that he called for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof told X he followed reports of violence “with alarm.”
“Semitic attacks on Israelis are totally unacceptable. I am close to everyone involved,” he added, saying he had spoken to Netanyahu and stressed that the perpetrators would be tracked down and prosecuted. Now the capital is quiet.”
Geert Wilders, a hardline lawmaker whose Party for Freedom won elections in the Netherlands last year and is a staunch friend of Israel, responded to a video showing a Maccabi fan surrounded by several men.
“It looks like a Jew hunting in the streets of Amsterdam. Catch and chase away the multicultural trash that has invaded Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from our streets. It’s a shame that this can happen in the Netherlands. It is absolutely unacceptable,” said Wilders.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also condemned the violence in a post on social media platform X.
Ajax won the Europa League match 5-0.
