Violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam

(CLO) Amsterdam has banned protests for three days from Friday following attacks on Israeli football fans on Thursday night. Israel had earlier sent a plane to the Netherlands to bring home fans.

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were “attacked, abused and had fireworks thrown” across the city, Mayor Femke Halsema said. Riot police intervened to protect them and escorted them to hotels. At least five people were treated in hospital.

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Video of the incident (source: Reuters)

Videos on social media showed riot police in action, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Footage also showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans ahead of Thursday night’s match.

Mayor Halsema said police were caught off guard after security forces failed to mark Ajax Amsterdam's game against Maccabi Tel Aviv as a high-risk game. She said "hit-and-run groups of anti-Semites" had managed to evade the force of around 200 police.

The match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv took place within the framework of the Europa League, ending in a 5-0 victory for the home team.

Anti-Semitic incidents have increased in the Netherlands since Israel launched an offensive aimed at destroying Hamas and almost completely destroying the Gaza Strip, killing more than 43,000 Palestinians and causing a severe humanitarian crisis.

Israeli football supporters and Dutch youths clash near Amsterdam Central Station, in Amsterdam, Netherlands on November 8. Photo: Reuters

Amsterdam has banned protests throughout the week and given police emergency stop and search powers to respond to unrest.

Security was also tight in the city, where a ceremony was scheduled to be held at a Jewish monument on Saturday to commemorate Kristallnacht, the Nazi massacre of Jews across Germany on November 9-10, 1938.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration sent a plane to the Netherlands to bring fans home, while the country's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar flew to Amsterdam for an extraordinary meeting with the Dutch government.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was "appalled by the anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens" and had assured Mr Netanyahu by phone that "those who carried out the attacks will be identified and prosecuted".

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke to Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who he said had "expressed his deep horror and shock".

Mr Herzog quoted the king as saying that the Netherlands had failed its Jewish community during World War II - under Nazi occupation and persecution - and failed again on Thursday night.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bao-luc-chong-nguoi-ham-mo-bong-da-israel-o-amsterdam-ha-lan-cam-bieu-tinh-3-ngay-post320635.html