Israeli football fans back home after Amsterdam violence

TEL AVIV: A plane carrying Israeli football supporters brought home from Amsterdam by the government landed today at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport as authorities condemned a night of “hateful antisemitic” violence.

Dutch police said 62 arrests were made as a result of the clashes, which erupted after a Europa League football tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two planes be sent to the Netherlands to bring the Israeli fans home, with the first flight of evacuees landing this afternoon, the Israel Airports Authority said.

Netanyahu also ordered Israel’s Mossad spy agency to draw up a plan to prevent unrest at sporting events in the future.

Amsterdam’s mayor said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful antisemitic rioters” who hunted down and attacked fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in a night of “unbearable” violence.

Femke Halsema described gangs on scooters targeting fans of the Israeli club, beating and kicking them in “hit-and-run” assaults, leaving five people hospitalised.

“I can easily understand that this brings back memories of pogroms,” Halsema said, adding that she was “ashamed” by the violence.

“Our city has been deeply damaged. Jewish culture has been deeply threatened. This is an outburst of antisemitism that I hope to never see again.”

Despite a “sporting” atmosphere in the ground and a huge police presence, authorities were unable to stop the rapid attacks on fans in several parts of the city.

Officers made 62 arrests in total but police chief Peter Holla said the hit-and-run tactics of the rioters made it “exceptionally” difficult to prevent the attacks.

He said that 800 officers had been deployed, a very large number for Amsterdam, adding: “We spent weeks preparing” for the match.

Halsema announced tightened security measures in the city, including a temporary ban on demonstrations, stepped-up police deployments and extra protection for key institutions.

Tensions were already running high, with “incidents on both sides” on Wednesday, 24 hours before the match, according to Holla.

He said Maccabi supporters had “removed a flag from a facade on the Rokin and they destroyed a taxi”.

“A Palestinian flag was set on fire on the Dam,” he added, referring to Amsterdam’s central square.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog condemned the clashes and said the “shocking images” of a “pogrom” were reminiscent of last year’s Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the Gaza war.

“We see with horror this morning, the shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an anti-Semitic pogrom currently taking place against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam,” Herzog said on X.