Dutch MP Wilders wants to deport those convicted of violence against Israeli football

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Far-right political leader Geert Wilders on Wednesday blamed ‘Moroccans’ for attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam last week, claiming they want to ‘destroy Jews’ and recommending the deportation of people convicted of involvement if they have dual nationality to have.

While lawmakers condemned anti-Semitism and agreed that perpetrators of the violence should be prosecuted and given harsh sentences, opposition lawmakers accused Wilders of “throwing fuel on the fire” and said his statements during a parliamentary debate were not helpful for ‘a better society’.

Violence broke out in the Dutch capital before and after last week’s football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Fans from both sides were involved in unrest; According to Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, many Maccabi fans attacked a taxi and chanted anti-Arab slogans, while some men carried out ‘hit and run’ attacks on people they believed were Jews.

After the match, parts of a large group of Maccabi supporters armed with sticks ran around “destroying things”, according to a 12-page report on the violence by Amsterdam authorities. There were also “rioters, who moved in small groups on foot, by scooter or by car and quickly attacked Maccabi fans before disappearing,” the report said.

According to the Amsterdam police, five people were treated in hospital for injuries. Police arrested dozens of people before the match, but there were no immediate arrests for violence afterward.

On Wednesday evening, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Dam Square in Amsterdam to hold a demonstration, despite a new city ban on such gatherings. Large numbers of police, including some on horseback, were present and arrested most of the protesters after they refused to leave. They were escorted largely peacefully to two buses and driven from the square.

Reports of anti-Semitic speech, vandalism and violence have been on the rise in Europe since the start of the war in Gaza, and tensions were high in Amsterdam ahead of the football match. The attacks on Maccabi fans caused outrage and were widely condemned as anti-Semitic.

The violence seriously damaged Amsterdam’s long-held image as a haven of tolerance and led to search parties across the country.

Wilders, whose anti-immigration Freedom Party won elections last year and is now part of a four-party coalition government, said on Wednesday that on the evening that Amsterdam commemorated Kristallnacht, we witnessed the anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany. 1938, “saw Muslims hunting Jews in the streets of Amsterdam,” and blames “Moroccans who want to destroy Jews.”

He provided no evidence. Police and prosecutors have not revealed the identities of any of the arrested suspects, in accordance with Dutch privacy rules.

Wilders called for the Dutch passports of people convicted of involvement in the violence – if they have a double passport – to be revoked and deported.

Wilders, who is sometimes described as the Dutch Donald Trump because of his fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, has been living under 24-hour protection for twenty years due to death threats from Islamic extremists. He has also long been a staunch supporter of Israel.

Some lawmakers warned that his new comments would only further deepen divisions in Dutch society.

Rob Jetten of the centrist party D66 said Wilders’ rhetoric “does not contribute to healing in any way.” He does not contribute in any way to uniting our country, but he adds fuel to the fire and does not come up with solutions against anti-Semitism and for a better society, but only further away.”

Frans Timmermans, leader of the largest center-left bloc in parliament, agreed.

“What you are doing is only stirring things up and dividing this country, while this country needs politicians who bring people together, who bring solutions closer,” Timmermans said.

In Amsterdam, a prominent Jewish city council member, Itay Garmy, said that while there is a lot of anger and fear within the Jewish community, inflammatory comments would not help.

“Do not use my safety, my suffering or my fear as a Jew to create political gains for yourself and make your points about integration, migration or Muslim hatred,” Garmy said.