Police in Amsterdam arrested several suspects after dozens of rioters clashed with officers and set a tram car on fire while chanting antisemitic slogans.
Footage from the scene caught at least one of the participants shouting, “Cancer Jews,” indicating that the violence was an extension of attacks perpetrated by Muslim and Arab rioters against Israeli soccer fans last Thursday night.
The clip was posted on X by Geert Wilders, a far-right Dutch lawmaker who leads the largest party in parliament.
Another video showed a Palestinian flag hung near one of the main points of friction during the clashes.
A police spokesman said a tram at the ’40-’45 Square in the west part of Amsterdam had caught fire, likely caused by fireworks thrown at it. The windows of the tram were also shattered.
No one was injured in the incident, as the tram had been empty, the spokesman said.
Amsterdam vanavond.
Ze roepen “Kankerjoden!”. pic.twitter.com/YlO1lV65DB
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) November 11, 2024
Footage on local TV station AT5 showed many people on the square throwing fireworks, poles and wooden pallets.
Police urged people to stay away from the square and said riot squads would remain present to restore peace. A state of emergency in Amsterdam, already in place since last week’s riots, was extended until 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Police said it was not clear who started the Monday night unrest and whether it was related to what happened last week.
However, they noted the tense atmosphere since five people were treated in the hospital and dozens detained Thursday following a Maccabi Tel Aviv-Ajax match.
Israeli officials said 10 people were injured in the overnight violence by local Arab and Muslim gangs against Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans. Hundreds more Israelis huddled in their hotels for hours, fearing they could be attacked. Many said that Dutch security forces were nowhere to be found, as the Israeli tourists were ambushed by gangs of masked assailants who shouted pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans while they hunted, beat, and harassed them.
Earlier Monday, Dutch police said they had arrested five more people on suspicion of involvement in the Thursday night wave of violence that local authorities deemed antisemitic.
דיווחים על מהומות באמסטרדם: קבוצה גדולה של מתפרעים הציתה תחנת טראם וירתה זיקוקים. לפי סרטון שפורסם ברשתות החברתיות, דגל פלסטין הוצב בסמוך לאחד ממוקדי החיכוך @AmichaiStein1 @itamargalit pic.twitter.com/BediytQ7ea
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 11, 2024
The latest suspects are men aged 18 to 37 and living in the Netherlands, Dutch police said in a statement. Previously, 63 suspects had been arrested.
Nonetheless, newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters in Jerusalem on Monday that Israel deemed the number of arrests over clashes in Amsterdam last week “very low.”
Also on Monday, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof doubled down on his criticism of the attacks on Israeli men by Arab and Muslim rioters, calling it “unadulterated antisemitic violence,” while insisting that there is no excuse for the “deliberate hunting down of Jews.”
“Four days after the attacks the shock, shame and anger remain. It was unadulterated antisemitic violence. We need hard action” to deal with those responsible, Schoof says at a press conference, adding that “intolerance cannot be met with tolerance.”
Dutch police are investigating images from CCTV cameras as well as from testimony from witnesses who saw the violence, including the attacks on Maccabi fans as well as the conduct of the Israeli fans themselves, according to Dutch media.
“I also know that there are images about the behavior of the Maccabi supporters. This too is being investigated and it is important that all facts are revealed,” Schoof said.
Video on social media showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans and ripping down Palestinian flags from buildings near where they were staying.
In this image taken from video, police officers patrol in riot gear on the streets of Amsterdam, Monday Nov. 11, 2024, as the city is facing tensions following violence last week. (AP Photo
“But there is a big difference between destroying things and hunting Jews,” Schoof says.
“There is nothing, absolutely nothing to serve as an excuse for the deliberate search and hunting down of Jews,” said the Dutch prime minister, adding: “We have failed our Jewish community.”
Schoof was to meet members of the Jewish community on Tuesday to discuss measures to combat antisemitism.
Meanwhile, the Europa League announced that a November 28 match between Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv had been moved from Istanbul to Debrecen in Hungary.
“The match will be played behind closed doors, following a decision of the local Hungarian authorities,” the governing body of European football said in a statement.
Besiktas had already announced that their match against Maccabi would be played “in a neutral country” for security reasons and said in its Monday statement that the events in Amsterdam were behind the decision to play behind closed doors.
“In light of the recent incidents that occurred between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, the match will take place without spectators,” the Istanbul club said. “We kindly ask our supporters to cancel their travel plans for this match to avoid possible inconveniences.
