THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police detained dozens of people Sunday for taking part in an outlawed demonstration following violence in central Amsterdam. Targeting fans of Israeli soccer clubs.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has banned all demonstrations over the weekend following horrific scenes of young people attacking Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters on scooters and on foot on Thursday and Friday. The incident was widely condemned as a violent outburst of anti-Semitism in the Dutch capital.
Late Sunday afternoon, the city, in cooperation with Amsterdam police and the public prosecutor’s office, extended the ban on demonstrations until Thursday morning.
In France, Paris police announced on Sunday that it would deploy 4,000 police and 1,600 stadium staff. France vs Israel soccer match Thursday to ensure safety in and around the stadium and on public transportation.
The Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands said that 2,000 Israelis had been brought home on special flights from Amsterdam in the past few days.
Before the match against Ajax, Maccabi fans also tore down the Palestinian flag from a building in Amsterdam and chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the stadium. There were also reports that Maccabi fans started fighting.
Amsterdam police announced on X news agency that they had detained more than 50 people and removed 340 people from the protest site.
Demonstrators shouted slogans such as “Free, Free Palestine”.
The City of Amsterdam reported in X that police began arresting protesters who refused to leave the square, which is in the heart of the city’s downtown shopping area and close to the historic canal network.
Protest organizers went to court on Sunday morning to seek an injunction to permit the demonstration, but a judge upheld the ban imposed by the municipality.
At the hearing, senior officer Olivier Dutil of the Amsterdam Police Department said that overnight incidents targeting people believed to be Jewish, including people being removed from taxis and people being asked to show their passports to confirm their nationality, had occurred overnight. He said it happened again.
Police launched a major investigation on Friday after a “hit-and-run” attack by a group of young people on a fan that the mayor of Amsterdam said was apparently inspired by calls on social media to target Jews. started. Five people were treated in hospital and more than 60 suspects were arrested.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Gideon Searle He rushed to the Netherlands on Friday and offered Israel’s cooperation in the police investigation. He met with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schauff on Saturday and said in a statement that the attacks and demands for passports were “reminiscent of the dark ages of history.”
