Israel’s PM wants to send planes to Amsterdam after “very violent” incident against Israeli football supporters

Following the violence that exploded between Israeli football supporters and pro-Palestine protestors surrounding yesterday’s Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv football match, Israel’s prime minister has announced he is “sending two planes to Amsterdam.”

The planes are meant to safely evacuate the Israeli football fans from the city after what Netanyahu has called “very violent” incidents against them, RTL reports.

“Not a single plane”

So far, Schiphol has yet to register any extra incoming planes from Israel besides the regularly scheduled commercial flights.

Meanwhile, in Israel, “not a single plane” bound for the Netherlands was seen taking off, reveals RTL.

What happened?

It has been reported that some pro-Palestine protestors violated the ban on protesting near the event’s venue and attacked the football fans leaving the arena.

Clashes also broke out in other parts of the city centre: “there have been scuffles, including on Dam Square,” a police spokesperson tells RTL.

According to Israeli authorities, the violence left ten Israeli fans injured, although it remains unclear how seriously. Additionally, three people are still uncontactable.

The Dutch authorities, on the other hand, have confirmed that 57 people were arrested but didn’t disclose how many of them were football fans or pro-Palestine protestors.

Strict prevention measures

The city’s administration tried to prevent Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and local pro-Palestine protestors from crossing paths.

For instance, the demonstration initially organised outside of the match’s venue, the Johan Cruijff ArenA, was moved to the nearby Anton de Komplein.

Moreover, extra police presence was deployed, and large areas of the city centre were designated as high-risk areas, meaning the police could frisk anyone passing by.

However, the strict measures were not enough to prevent turmoil, which already broke out the night before the match — during which Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were filmed tearing down Palestinian flags, chanting songs glorifying anti-Arab violence, and beating up a taxi driver, reports the AD.

The aftermath

Identifying the people involved will be challenging. “We can’t tell who belongs to who, the groups are not easy to distinguish from each other, almost all of them are wearing dark clothing,” a police spokesperson tells RTL.

Politically, the incident caused quite a stir, with several major Dutch leaders, including Schoof, Wilders, and Yesilgöz, condemning the attack on Israeli fans and Amsterdam Mayor Halsema’s handling of the incident.

However, the biggest political reaction was Netanyahu’s statement regarding the yet-to-be-seen planes.

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup 📮