Israel sends planes to rescue Israeli football fans after ‘anti-Semitic’ attack in Amsterdam | World news

Israel sent two planes to Amsterdam on Friday to bring back Israeli football fans after an apparent incident anti-Semitic attack in the streets. Videos emerging from Dutch media outlets showed riot police storming the streets amid clashes as some people shouted anti-Israel slogans.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv were “attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks” and that riot police had to intervene several times to protect them and escort them to hotels.

Anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands have soared since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in which several Jewish schools and organizations received threats and hate mail, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was in direct contact with the Netherlands after the attack and decided to send two planes to Amsterdam after the violent incident.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it was sending two cargo planes to Amsterdam, along with medical and rescue teams, in coordination with the Dutch government.

The clashes broke out after the match between Maccabi and Ajax Amsterdam, traditionally identified as a Jewish club, when some pro-Palestinian supporters allegedly attacked Israeli football fans.

An eyewitness recorded video verified by Reuters showing a group of men running near Amsterdam’s central station, chasing and attacking other men as police sirens sounded.

Police said 57 suspects were arrested after the match as pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena, even though the city had banned a protest there. They said fans had left the stadium without incident after the Europa League match, which Ajax won 5-0, but clashes broke out in the city center overnight.

Israeli media said the attacks, which were apparently carried out to mimic the October 7 terror attack in the country, appeared to be planned.

The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas led to several pro-Palestinian protests in Europe, and many Amsterdam residents seemed outraged by the football match between the two teams.

More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and 102,000 others injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack, after the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages, according to health officials in the enclave taken.

(With input from Reuters)