After the riots in Amsterdam and the attacks suffered by Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in the streets of the Dutch capital, their repatriation continues. And in Israel, we are preparing for new sporting events now under close surveillance.
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It is an airlift which continues exceptionally for Israeli companies throughout the shabbat : the repatriation of more than two thousand Israelis who came to watch the Maccabi Tel Aviv match against Ajax Amsterdam, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Michael Paul. Upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport, Israeli team director Ben Mansford said the attack on fans leaving the stadium was simply appalling.
Also readNetherlands: Maccabi Tel-Aviv supporters attacked on the sidelines of a Europa League match
“ It has nothing to do with football. And that’s why you’re here. Lots of people came to see a soccer match, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel and Star of David fans, and they were thrown into canals, beaten and thrown to the ground. They were told they were worthless, their Jewishness was denied. It’s a very bad time that we live in after this year that we spent “, he said.
Five people hospitalized and 62 arrests
Dutch police reported five people briefly hospitalized and 62 arrests after the night’s violence, described as ” explosion of anti-Semitism » by the mayor of the city, to which Israel dispatched planes to repatriate the supporters.
Widely deployed on Thursday before the match, the Dutch police were on alert after a Palestinian flag was torn down the day before from a facade on a major avenue in the city center. “ The violence had already started on Wednesday evening between supporters. It was a night with incidents on both sides. Maccabi supporters removed a flag from a facade of the Rokin and destroyed a taxi. A Palestinian flag was set on fire at the dam “, Peter Holla, the police chief in Amsterdam, said on Friday. In the night, the police had to intervene on several occasions to protect Israeli supporters and escort them to their hotels ”, according to the Dutch authorities.
Racist chants and Palestinian flag torn down
Maccabi Tel Aviv is Israel’s oldest and most successful club. Its supporters are not particularly known for violence, but images circulating on social media on Friday and presented as filmed in Amsterdam – the origin of which is difficult to verify – show what appear to be dozens of the club’s fans chanting in Hebrew ” May the Israeli army win! We’re going to fuck the Arabs! “. Thursday afternoon, around a hundred Israeli supporters gathered on Dam Square, surrounded by a large police force, before going to the Johan Cruyff stadium in Amsterdam.
In a statement, the Palestinian Football Association denounced the “Anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia exhibited by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, who also attacked homes and stores displaying the Palestinian flag in solidarity with victims of the ongoing genocides”.
A Mossad action plan
Israeli authorities on Friday called on fans to avoid a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball match against Bologna Virtus in Italy. And above all not to visibly display Israeli or Jewish symbols. Ultimately the match took place without incident and the Israeli basketball players lost to the Italians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said he ordered Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, to prepare an action plan to prevent violence at sporting events. The next sporting event is the France-Israel meeting next Thursday at the Stade de France. Around a hundred Israeli supporters planned to make the trip.