Israel sends in planes to rescue Israeli soccer fans after ‘antisemitic’ attack in Amsterdam

Israel on Friday sent two planes to Amsterdam to bring back Israeli soccer fans after an apparent antisemitic attack in the streets. Videos surfacing from Netherlands media channels showed riot police storming the streets amid clashes as some people shouted anti-Israel slogans.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were "attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks" and that riot police had to intervene several times to protect them and escort them to hotels.

Antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands have surged since the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, with several Jewish schools and organisations getting threats and hate mail, reported Reuters.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office was in direct contact with the Netherlands after the attack and decided to send two planes to Amsterdam after the violent incident.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it was sending two cargo planes to Amsterdam along with medical and rescue teams in coordination with the Dutch government.

The clashes broke out after the match between Maccabi and Ajax Amsterdam, traditionally identified as a Jewish club when some pro-Palestine supporters allegedly attacked Israeli soccer fans.

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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.

Police said 57 suspects had been detained after the game as pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena, even though the city had forbidden a protest there. They said fans had left the stadium without incident after the Europa League match, which Ajax won 5-0, but that clashes erupted overnight in the city center.

Israeli media said that the attacks, apparently made to mimic the October 7 terror attack in the country, seemed to be planned.

The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas sparked multiple pro-Palestine protests in Europe, and many citizens of Amsterdam seemed to be outraged by the football match between the two teams.

Over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and 102,000 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack, according to health officials in the enclave, after the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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