Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered, in the early hours of Friday, November 8, the sending of two planes to Amsterdam to rescue soccer fans after violence and attacks led to dozens of arrests during a match. of the Europa League that was held on Thursday night, at the Ajax in Amsterdam. Maccabi Tel Aviv (5-0).
“The Prime Minister ordered the immediate dispatch of two relief planes to help our citizens”according to a press release from his services, which states that Netanyahu considered “The most serious horrible incident”.
Israel’s National Security Ministry Itamar Ben-Gvir asked Israeli citizens in Amsterdam to remain in their hotel rooms following the attacks on the city’s streets. “Fans who went to watch a football match faced anti-Semitism and were attacked with unimaginable cruelty simply because they were Jews and Israelis”said the minister.
According to the Israeli newspaper HaaretzAccording to information from the Dutch authorities collected by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ten Israelis were injured in these acts of violence. His condition remains unknown. The Israeli Foreign Ministry added that it had not been able to contact two other Israelis.
Naftali Bennett, the short-lived Israeli Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022, posted videos of these attacks on X overnight. “It looks like a PLANNED and ORGANIZED POGROM”wrote. “Innocent people run over, beaten, thrown into a river, etc. I call on the Dutch authorities to act immediately to prevent injuries and worse. »
The videos he shared show people being beaten, particularly on the ground. In some, the attackers shout “Free Palestine” and insults in Arabic. Other messages, published in particular by anti-fascist pages, accuse Israeli supporters of provocations and hate chants.
A strong police force
According HaaretzApproximately 3,000 Israeli citizens traveled to Amsterdam to watch the match. The newspaper reported that, according to testimony from his followers, some of the attacks had been planned ambushes. The attackers are said to have set traps for the Israelis in several places in the city as they returned from the match by train.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has asked the Dutch government to help Israeli citizens reach the airport safely, he told his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp on Friday.
The global application
The morning of the world
Every morning, find our selection of 20 items not to be missed
Download the application
“A large number of mobile unit vehicles are present and reinforcements have also been requested. The youths also allegedly provoked the police.” described the local media AT5. Police protected and escorted the Israeli fans to their hotel, according to images shared by AT5.
The Amsterdam police, cited by the ANP agency, indicated that they had made 57 arrests in total during the day. She indicated on her X account on Thursday that she was “particularly vigilant”after reporting several incidents, including a Palestinian flag torn from a facade “by strangers”.
In the afternoon, around a hundred Israeli fans gathered in Dam Square – surrounded by a strong police force – before heading to the Johan Cruyff stadium, southwest of the Dutch capital.
A pro-Palestinian demonstration condemning the arrival of the Israeli club was initially planned near the stadium, but the Amsterdam city council moved it a little further into the neighborhood for security reasons.
In recent months, several matches by Israeli teams have been held on neutral grounds, particularly in Hungary, due to fears of violence related to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
