More arrests made over attacks against Israeli football supporters, Dutch police say
Some 63 people have already been arrested after Israeli fans were attacked in the Dutch capital on Thursday following a match between local side Ajax and Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Five more people have been arrested for their suspected involvement in attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam, Dutch police have said.
Some 63 suspects had already been arrested after Israeli fans were attacked in the Dutch capital on Thursday following a match between local side Ajax and Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the Netherlands would focus all its efforts on bringing the perpetrators to justice.
“The images and reports for Amsterdam and what we’ve seen this weekend of antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are nothing short of shocking and reprehensible,” he said on Monday.
Mr Schoof said police and prosecutors were still piecing together the details of what happened.
Explained: What we know about violence in Amsterdam
Youths on scooters and on foot went in search of Israeli fans on Thursday, punching and kicking them before fleeing, according to Amsterdam’s mayor.
At least five people were injured in the attacks, which were denounced as antisemitic by Dutch authorities and foreign leaders including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A video circulated on social media showed a man being chased through the street with the caption “watch and enjoy six Zionists chased away. Free Palestine”.
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Israel tells citizens not to attend events abroad after violence
Israel sent extra planes to bring Maccabi supporters home following the attacks and told its citizens not to attend cultural or sports events abroad this week.
Mr Netanyahu’s office claimed it has intelligence that pro-Palestinian groups overseas intend to harm Israelis in cities in the Netherlands, UK, France, Belgium and others.
‘We condemn any violence’
Before the match on Thursday, Maccabi fans tore a Palestinian flag off a building in Amsterdam, set another on fire and chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the stadium.
“We are well aware of what happened earlier with Maccabi supporters but we think that’s of a different category and we condemn any violence as well, but that is no excuse whatsoever for what happened later on that night in the attacks on Jews in Amsterdam,” Mr Schoof said.
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On Sunday more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were taken away by police during a banned demonstration in the city’s Dam Square.
A three-day ban on demonstrations was brought in on Friday, following violence that erupted on Thursday after the Europa League game.
The ban was later extended for four more days until next Thursday.
Tram set on fire
It comes as dozens of people armed with sticks and firecrackers set fire to a tram in Amsterdam on Monday, police said.
The fire was quickly extinguished and riot officers cleared the square, the force said.
Police said it was not clear who started the unrest or whether it was related to the violence last week.
