Amsterdam bans rallies after Israeli soccer fans attacked

amsterdam — 

Amsterdam banned demonstrations for 3 days from Friday aft overnight attacks connected Israeli shot supporters by what the politician called "antisemitic hit-and-run squads," and Israel sent planes to the Netherlands to alert fans home.

Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been "attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks" astir the city, and that riot constabulary intervened to support them and escort them to hotels. At slightest 5 radical were treated successful a hospital.

Videos connected societal media showed riot constabulary successful action, with immoderate attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Footage besides showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans earlier Thursday evening's match.

"We saw a batch of demonstrations, a batch of radical running. It was really, truly terrifying," said Joni Pogrebetsy, an Israeli shot instrumentality successful Amsterdam for the match.

Antisemitic incidents person surged successful the Netherlands since Israel launched its battle connected the Palestinian enclave of Gaza aft the attacks connected Israel by Hamas militants successful October past year, with galore Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hatred mail.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's authorities sent planes to the Netherlands to bring fans home, portion Foreign Minister Gideon Saar flew to Amsterdam for impromptu meetings with the Dutch authorities and far-right person Geert Wilders.

Amsterdam banned demonstrations done the play and gave constabulary exigency stop-and-search powers successful effect to the unrest, which exposed heavy choler implicit the Gaza-Israel conflict.

More than 43,000 Palestinians person been killed and millions displaced successful Israel's subject violative connected Gaza, according to wellness officials there. The violative was launched aft Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took much than 250 hostage successful the archetypal cross-border attack, according to Israel. Hamas has been designated a panic radical by the U.S., U.K., EU and others.

In Washington, U.S. President Biden condemned the attacks arsenic "despicable" and said they "echo acheronian moments successful past erstwhile Jews were persecuted." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the unit successful Amsterdam, a U.N. spokesperson said.

Security tightened

Mayor Halsema said constabulary had been taken by astonishment aft information services failed to emblem the lucifer against Ajax Amsterdam, traditionally identified arsenic a Jewish club, arsenic high-risk.

"Antisemitic hit-and-run squads" had managed to evade a unit of astir 200 officers, she said.

Security was tightened successful the city, wherever a work was planned astatine a Jewish monument connected Saturday to retrieve Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom against Jews crossed Germany connected Nov. 9-10, 1938.

A video verified by Reuters showed a radical of men moving adjacent Amsterdam cardinal station, chasing and assaulting different men arsenic constabulary sirens sounded.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said helium was "horrified by the anti-Semitic attacks connected Israeli citizens" and had assured Netanyahu by telephone that "the perpetrators volition beryllium identified and prosecuted."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who helium said had "expressed heavy fearfulness and shock."

Herzog quoted the king arsenic saying the Netherlands had failed its Jewish assemblage during World War II — nether Nazi concern and persecution — and again connected Thursday night.

Anti-Muslim person Wilders, caput of the largest enactment successful the government, said helium was "ashamed that this tin hap successful the Netherlands." In a station connected X, helium blamed "criminal Muslims" and said they should beryllium deported.

Police said determination had been incidents earlier the game, for which 3,000 Maccabi supporters traveled to Amsterdam.

Israel says unit recalls European pogroms

The Israeli Embassy successful The Hague said mobs had chanted anti-Israel slogans and shared videos of their unit connected societal media, "kicking, beating, adjacent moving implicit Israeli citizens."

"On the eve of Kristallnacht — erstwhile Jews successful Nazi Germany faced brutal attacks — it is horrifying to witnesser antisemitic unit connected the streets of Europe erstwhile again," it said.

Police said 62 suspects had been detained aft the crippled arsenic pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to scope the Johan Cruyff Arena, adjacent though the metropolis had forbidden a protestation there. Ten remained successful custody connected Friday.

They said fans had near the stadium without incidental aft the Europa League match, which Ajax won 5-0, but that clashes erupted overnight successful the metropolis center.

Herzog was among elder Israeli politicians who said the unit recalled the onslaught connected Israel by Hamas gunmen past twelvemonth arsenic good arsenic attacks connected European Jews successful the pogroms of erstwhile centuries.

"We spot with fearfulness this morning, the shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped ne'er to spot again: an anti-Semitic pogrom presently taking spot against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens successful the bosom of Amsterdam," helium wrote connected X.

Senior Hamas authoritative Sami Abu Zuhri said that the wide sidesplitting by Israeli forces successful Gaza and deficiency of planetary involution to halt it "is apt to pb to specified spontaneous repercussions."

"This emphasizes that stopping the genocide successful Gaza is an indispensable portion of respecting and protecting quality rights, arsenic good arsenic ensuring determination and planetary information and peace," helium told Reuters.

The Gaza warfare has led to protests successful enactment of some sides crossed Europe and the United States, and some Jews and Arabs person been attacked.