Dutch Mayor condemns fan clashes as antisemitic

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema condemned violence in the city on Thursday as “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were attacked after travelling for their team’s Europa League game with Ajax.

“This is a very dark moment for the city, for which I am deeply ashamed,” Halsema said at a news conference Friday.

“Antisemitic criminals attacked and assaulted visitors to our city, in hit-and-run actions,” the mayor added, saying perpetrators had managed to escape a large police presence.

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 before Thursday evening’s match.

Police said fans had left the stadium without incident, but clashes erupted overnight in the city centre. At the news conference, Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla said supporters of Maccabi had on Wednesday burned a Palestinian flag and attacked a taxi.

Five people were hospitalised by the violence, while another 20 to 30 were lightly injured, according to Dutch police, while there was no evidence of hostage-taking or missing people in the wake of overnight events.

Chief public prosecutor Rene de Beukelaer said Friday that 62 arrests had been made, with 10 people remaining in custody.

Antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands since Israel launched its assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after the attacks on Israel by Hamas militants in October last year, with many Jewish organisations and schools reporting threats and hate mail.

Amsterdam banned demonstrations through the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers in response to the unrest, which exposed deep anger over the Gaza-Israel conflict.

More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, according to health officials there, launched after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage in the initial cross-border attack, according to Israel.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the attacks as “despicable” and said they “echo dark moments in history when Jews persecuted.” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the violence in Amsterdam, a U.N. spokesperson said.

Israel’s foreign minister left urgently for the Netherlands after the violence targeting Israeli football fans broke out in the Dutch city overnight. Israel initially ordered that two planes be sent to bring fans home, but later the office of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would work to help citizens arrange commercial flights.

Videos circulating on social media showed street clashes and riot police intervening.

The suspects had been detained after the game as pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to reach the Johan Cruyff stadium, even though the city had forbidden a protest there. Ajax defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-0.

An eyewitness captured a video verified by Reuters showing a group of men running near Amsterdam central station, chasing and assaulting other men, as police sirens sounded.

Another verified video showed Maccabi fans setting off flares and chanting “Ole, ole, let the IDF win, we will f— the Arabs,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was “horrified by the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens. This is completely unacceptable.”

In a statement on X he said he had spoken to Netanyahu on the phone and assured him “that the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has asked the Dutch government to help Israeli citizens arrive safely at the airport, Saar told his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp in a phone call on Friday.

“After a sporting football match with a good atmosphere in our stadium — for which we thank all parties involved for the good cooperation — we were horrified to learn what happened in the centre of Amsterdam last night,” Ajax said in a statement. “We strongly condemn this violence.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s national team is scheduled to play France in Paris on Nov. 14 in the Nations League. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Thursday that the match would go ahead as planned at the Stade de France just outside the French capital after assurances from police.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.