Explained: The Build-up To Attacks On Israeli Football Fans In Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM:

The attacks on Israeli football supporters in Amsterdam this week followed tensions that began brewing days before between the fans and pro-Palestinian activists and other people in the city, a chronology of events showed.

Supporters of Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv were targeted for beatings by groups of thugs in the early hours of Friday following a match with Amsterdam's Ajax, the city's mayor Femke Halsema has said.

Among dozens of Israeli supporters who were chased and assaulted, five suffered injuries needing hospital treatment, police said. In all, 63 suspects have been arrested and authorities promised an investigation, as politicians within the country and beyond expressed their condemnation.

DAY BEFORE MATCH

Tension began to build on Wednesday as some of the 3,000 visiting Maccabi supporters had minor altercations with locals including taxi drivers and Ajax supporters in the city centre, police said.

A police report said groups of Maccabi supporters burned a Palestinian flag on Dam square, pulled another down from a nearby building and vandalised a taxi.

After a call on social media, angry Muslim taxi drivers came together outside a casino where 400 Maccabi supporters were gathered, and police intervened in skirmishes.

Some Dutch media have reported that social media videos from Wednesday show the beating of a Muslim taxi driver and youths yelling antisemitic slurs at a Maccabi supporter who was pushed into a canal. Reuters was unable to verify those descriptions of the scenes.

MATCH DAY

On the day of the game, Maccabi supporters were filmed chanting anti-Arab slogans in front of the National Monument on Amsterdam's central Dam square, including "Fuck you Palestine", in videos verified by Reuters.

Dutch pro-Palestinian groups planned a demonstration outside the stadium during the game. They argued that the match should have been cancelled because of Israel's war in Gaza, in which more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed.

But Dutch authorities allowed it to proceed because the relationship between supporters of the two teams -- the usual source of football violence -- is generally good, Halsema said on Friday. 

With a confrontation between protesters and football supporters considered the biggest security threat, the mayor moved the demonstration against the match to a remote location.

Ajax's most hardcore supporters, known as the F-Side, had said politics and football should be kept separate and that they would "intervene if necessary" if the demonstration went ahead at the stadium. 

Ajax has strong Jewish associations, and fans sometimes carry Star of David flags to matches; it also has many Muslim supporters.

MATCH AND AFTERMATH

Riot police at the stadium kept opposing groups apart, and few incidents were reported when the match ended around 11 p.m.

But around midnight, security fell apart in the city centre.

Calls to target returning Maccabi supporters began circulating on Dutch messaging groups, leading to what mayor Halsema described as "antisemitic hit and run assaults".

Police used to dispersing football mobs could not easily stop smaller, highly mobile groups of attackers with no obvious club allegiance.

Police said they collected around 200 Maccabi fans on Dam square to protect them and escort them back to their hotels. But many others were assaulted elsewhere in town, and the perpetrators quickly fled on motor scooters.

Social media videos verified by Reuters showed groups attacking Israelis, kicking victims after they had fallen, throwing fireworks and in one instance shouting: "That's Palestine. That's Gaza, mother-fucker...now you know how it feels."

Dutch news site Bender published video of a large group of Maccabi supporters arming themselves with sticks, pipes and rocks and twice clashing with opponents when they marched into the city after the match.

RISING ANTISEMITISM  

Antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands since Israel launched its assault on Gaza after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. Many Dutch Jewish organisations and schools have reported threats and hate mail.

Less than 1% of Amsterdam's population is Jewish following the Holocaust, while around 15% is Muslim, mostly second and first generation immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East. 

The conservative Dutch government has vowed to implement Europe's strictest measures to limit immigration and reject asylum-seekers.

Of the 63 people detained early on Friday, most were later released pending charges.

Amsterdam banned demonstrations through the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)