Chaos in Amsterdam as pro-Palestine protesters conflict with Dutch police after officers transfer in on ‘unlawful’ demonstration in aftermath of assaults on Israeli soccer followers

Chaos has broken out in Amsterdam as pro-Palestine protesters have clashed with Dutch police after officers moved in on a banned demonstration in the aftermath of the attacks on Israeli football fans in the city.

Police in riot gear moved in on the protesters who were chanting slogans and holding up placards at Dam square in the wake of clashes between Israeli football fans and groups of youths on Thursday.

Earlier today, the Amsterdam District Court upheld a decision by the mayor to ban protests in the city, three days after it was rocked by violence between Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans and men on scooters in several areas of the city. 

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after they defied the ban as they and hundreds others gathered in the city’s Dam square, holding up placards that said ‘We want our streets back’ and chanting ‘Free Palestine‘ as well as ‘From the river to the sea’. 

This comes after it was revealed that the Amsterdam rioters reportedly planned a Jew hunt on Telegram before they launched their violent attack on Israeli football fans.

The alleged ‘hunt’, prompting rioters to travel from Amsterdam to attack Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Jewish people was announced on the messaging app well in advance, De Telegraaf reported on Friday.

The horrific pre-planned attacks against the Israeli sports fans on Thursday evening left at least five people injured.

The three-day ban was imposed from Friday after the attacks, with the court announcing on X: ‘The mayor has rightly decided that there will be a ban on demonstrating in the city this weekend.’

It therefore ‘rejected the request’ by today’s protesters to hold their demonstration.

Dutch activist Frank van der Linde applied for an urgent permit to demonstrate on the city’s famous Dam Square, despite a temporary ban on protests announced by mayor Femke Halsema on Friday.

Van der Linde wanted to protest on the Dam against the ‘genocide in Gaza, but also because our right to protest has been taken away,’ Dutch national news agency ANP quoted him as saying.

Friday’s emergency measures also included heightened police protection and wearing of face masks, and will be in place until Monday morning.

But on Sunday afternoon dozens of demonstrators started gathering at the square in the city’s centre, despite a heavy police presence.

The protesters, who were peaceful, chanted slogans and carried placards including one that read: ‘We can fight anti-Semitism and genocidal Zionism at the same time.’ 

Among the arrested protesters is Amsterdam city council member Jazie Veldhuyzen of De Vonk, who told De Telegraaf after the arrest: ‘I was just arrested on Dam Square during a pro-Palestine demonstration where I went to check on police action. When the group was arrested I decided to get arrested in solidarity with the demonstrators.’

It comes after Mayor Femke Halsema said the Israeli football fans had been ‘attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks’. Videos on social media show young men being punched in the head, kicked in the stomach and knocked unconscious. 

Sixty-three people have already been arrested in connection with the violence that broke out after a Europa League football tie with Amsterdam club Ajax, Dutch police said.

Following Thursday night’s assaults, individuals in the Telegram groups spoke of a follow-up attack, reported The Jerusalem Post.

The attacks have been denounced by political leaders. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Friday he was ‘horrified by the anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens’.

He also assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone that ‘the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted’.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander also shared his ‘deep horror and shock’ after ‘antisemitic hit-and-run squads’ targeted the Israeli football fans.

Halsema did not hold back her disappointment as she labelled the violence as an ‘explosion of anti-Semitism.’

She said on Friday: ‘Boys on scooters were driving through the town looking for Maccabi supporters, it was hit and run.

‘Football fans were attacked and then rioters fled, running away from the police forces.’

She said the events were reminiscent of pogroms – spates of violent anti-Jewish riots first perpetrated in the Russian Empire – and Kristallnacht, the night of relentless Nazi violence against the Jews of Germany, which took place 86 years ago.

Halsema said the city had been ‘deeply damaged, the Jewish culture has been threatened.’

Several taxi drivers were reported to have been involved in the attack on the Israeli fans as they arrived in central Amsterdam to target the groups, as per De Telegraaf.

One Israeli reportedly ended up in one of Amsterdam’s canals, while others hid at the Holland Casino. 

An investigation by Holland Casino allegedly revealed that a hired security guard was active in one of the Telegram groups where information was exchanged between perpetrators.

The Dutch newspaper reported that, according to the casino, the security guard will not be hired back.

Some 800 officers were deployed to tackle the violence, but police admitted that things got out of control.

People who were out in the city at the time were forced to seek shelter in shops, according to reports, while hundreds of Israelis shut themselves in their hotels as they waited for the violence to subside.

One victim suffered a broken leg after being set upon by gang members, according to Dutch media, with authorities saying the rioters were ‘actively looking for Israeli fans’.

‘This outbreak of violence against Israeli fans has crossed all boundaries and cannot be justified,’ police said in a news conference.

Netanyahu’s office said he told Dutch PM Schoof that he ‘views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and [has] requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands’.

Britain’s Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said on X: ‘Utterly devastating scenes from The Netherlands. Hateful mobs have chased down Jewish & Israeli football fans on the streets of Amsterdam after a match, violently beating them and proudly posting the footage on social media.

‘Many are injured and three people are currently missing. This should be a watershed moment for Europe and for the world, when it realises how severe the scourge of anti-Jewish hatred has become.

‘Sadly, I fear it will not be and that tragically, this will not be the last such attack, God forbid.’

Amsterdam police said on social media yesterday that tensions before the match had been high and they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building by Maccabi fans.

Footage also emerged of provocative chants including, ‘Let the IDF win, we will f*** the Arabs,’ and, ‘F*** you, Palestine.’

In another potential football flashpoint, France are scheduled to play Israel in Paris next Thursday.

France’s interior minister said the match would go ahead as planned.