Israel tells citizens not to attend cultural and sports events abroad after Amsterdam violence

The Israeli government has told its citizens not to attend cultural or sports events abroad over the next week following violence in Amsterdam.

The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it has intelligence that pro-Palestinian groups overseas intended to harm Israelis in cities in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Belgium and others.

The travel advice covers events which involve Israelis.

It comes after Israeli football fans were attacked in the Dutch capital on Thursday following a match between local side Ajax and Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Explained: What we know about violence in Amsterdam

On Sunday, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were taken away by police during a banned demonstration in Amsterdam after “antisemitic” violence in the wake of the game.

Hundreds of people had defied an order banning protests and gathered in the city’s Dam Square, chanting “Amsterdam says no to genocide” and “free Palestine”.

A three-day ban on demonstrations was brought in on Friday, following violence that erupted on Thursday after the Europa League game.

The ban was later extended for four more days until next Thursday.

In Paris, police said that 4,000 police officers will be deployed for Thursday’s football match between France and Israel.

President Emmanuel Macron will attend the game, a gesture aimed at sending “a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable acts of antisemitism that followed the match in Amsterdam”, his office said.

The aftermath of the football game was marred by violence that the mayor of the Dutch city and the country’s prime minister described as antisemitic.

At a hearing challenging the protest ban, a senior police officer said it was still needed as people thought to be Jewish were targeted on Saturday night, with some being ordered out of taxis and others asked to produce their passports.

A local court ratified the ban and the people who were rounded up were put on buses and dropped off on the outskirts of the city, police spokesperson Ramona van den Ochtend said, without confirming how many had been detained.

One protester was taken to an ambulance bleeding.

After the initial violence, five people were treated in hospital and more than 60 were held by police.

The attacks followed a Palestinian flag being torn down in the Dutch city, and another being set on fire, before Maccabi Tel Aviv fans shouted anti-Arab chants as they were escorted to the game.

The initial attacks on Israeli fans were carried out by what Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described as “hit-and-run squads”.

Prosecutors said that four suspects remained detained, including two minors, and 40 people have been fined.

A night that ‘defied description’

Tensions began to build the day before the match when some of the 3,000 visiting Maccabi supporters had minor altercations with locals, including taxi drivers and Ajax supporters, police said.

According to officers, on Wednesday a Palestinian flag was set on fire in Dam Square, and another was pulled down from a nearby building as a taxi was also vandalised.

On game day, the Maccabi supporters chanted anti-Arab slogans including “Let the IDF win, and f*** the Arabs,” as they were escorted by police to the stadium.

A planned pro-Palestinian demonstration on Thursday was moved away from the ground to Anton de Komplein square, in an attempt to prevent any clashes, but after the game on Thursday night violence spread in the city.

Attacks broke out and police rounded up and escorted some Maccabi fans back to their hotels.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof described the violence as “antisemitic” and said it “defied description”.

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A video which was circulated on social media showed a man being chased through the street with the caption “watch and enjoy six Zionists chased away. Free Palestine”.

A statement by Amsterdam police and prosecutors said Thursday evening “was very turbulent, with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters”.

They added: “There is no excuse for the antisemitic behaviour exhibited last night [Thursday] by rioters who actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them.”