The attack on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam might have been planned. Rioters reportedly discussed the attack on Telegram before they charged on the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, De Telegraaf reported Friday. The violent attack that took place on Thursday evening, left at least five people injured, who mayor Femke Halsema said had been 'attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks'.
Videos circulating on social media showed young men being kicked in the stomach, punched in the head and knocked unconscious. Sixty-three people were already arrested in connection with the attack, Dutch police said. The incident was condemned by many political leaders. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was 'horrified by the anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens.'
Violent mobs are chasing Jews in Amsterdam to debate Zionism. And definitely not because they hate Jews. pic.twitter.com/xMyBEaVMbh
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 8, 2024
Schoof also assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on call that 'the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted.'
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called out the violence as an 'explosion of anti-Semitism. She said, "Boys on scooters were driving through the town looking for Maccabi supporters, it was hit and run."
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"Football fans were attacked and then rioters fled, running away from police forces," she continued, adding that the city had been 'deeply damaged, the Jewish culture has been threatened.'
Dutch King Willem-Alexander also shared his 'deep horror and shock' after the football fans were attacked by 'antisemitic hit-and-run squads.'
An investigation by Holland Casino revealed that a hired security guard was active in one of the Telegram chats where information was exchanged between the rioters. According to the casino, the security guard won't be hired back, the Dutch newspaper reported.
Around 800 officers were deployed to tackle the violence, but the police admitted that things got out of control. People who were out in the streets were forced to take shelter in shops, according to reports, while several Israelis locked themselves in their hotels as they waited for the violence to subside.