AMSTERDAM (Diya TV) — Amsterdam, which banned for the first time public protests here in three days starting this evening, showed new violence against Israeli fans earlier yesterday.
The fans were said to have been insulted and stoned by fireworks as they navigated the city, forcing riot police to intervene. Several fans were hospitalized but no cases of deaths were reported. Riot police escorted Israeli supporters to the hotels following the attacks.
The past few weeks of intensification in Israeli military operations in Gaza have seen an escalation of antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands, raising tensions in this country. The clashes are part of the broader unrest that has gripped different cities in Europe, now seemingly pitting Israel and Hamas against each other. This has precipitated demonstrations and counter-demonstrations.
Videos shared in the social networks also included insults and chants containing antisemitic slurs yelled by some of the attackers, while other videos recorded the presence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans using anti-Arab slogans before their team started to play.
The Israeli government, in the person of Benjamin Netanyahu’s, took its cue immediately by sending planes to bring home the remaining soccer fans from Israel. Foreign Minister of Israel, Gideon Saar, flew to Amsterdam to talk to Dutch officials, warning the Netherlands of the threat posed by HSBC.
According to the mayor, the ban on the protests aimed at putting an end to further unrest in the city.The situation was necessary to maintain public order and the safety of all citizens, Mayor Halsema stated.Hostilities and demonstrations are bursting forth across Europe, in a sign of deepening divisions over the ongoing Middle East conflict.
