Agency
Amsterdam, Nov 12
Dutch police on Tuesday arrested five more people in connection with the violence that broke out during a match involving an Israeli football team in Amsterdam on Thursday night.
Rioters set ablaze an empty tram and a police car on Monday night. Reportedly, ‘Free Palestine’ slogans were raised by the rioters. Videos posted on social media showed a tram being attacked with fireworks and its windows being shattered.
The suspects, arrested for ‘public violence against persons’, were aged between 18 and 37.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that “antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews” were “nothing short of shocking and reprehensible”.
In the wake of the violence, demonstrations have been temporarily banned in Amsterdam until Thursday. However, pro-Palestinian protests have been allowed to go ahead in a park away from the centre. Activists had claimed that the government is suppressing the voices raised against Israel.
Youths on scooters crisscrossed the Dutch capital in “hit-and-run” attacks on Maccabi supporters after the Europa League match last week.
Since the violence, around 63 were arrested by the police. After the Monday violence too, arrests were made in the city. However, no injuries were reported.
Youths dressed in black damaged cars in a western suburb, where the tram was attacked on ’40-’45 Square.
“The images and reports for Amsterdam and what we’ve seen this weekend of antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are nothing short of shocking and reprehensible,” Schoof told journalists.
The violence in Amsterdam last week was condemned by leaders across Europe, the US and Israel. Since the Gaza war, reports of antisemitic incidents have risen in Europe.
