The feeling of reliving a nightmare. This Monday, November 11, the west of Amsterdam was once again at the heart of violence. In the evening, a group of “young people dressed in black” and mostly “masked” attacked the police and public infrastructure.
According to De Telegraaf, “The reason for the unrest is probably linked to previous violence in Amsterdam surrounding the arrival of thousands of Israeli fans due to Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match against Ajax.” Four days earlier, 25 people were injured in clashes which broke out at the end of the sporting event.
A tram burned
7:15 p.m. this Monday. Explosions ring out. “There is turmoil [sur la place] Full 40-45”, reports the Dutch police on the social network. “A large group of people caused a nuisance by throwing fireworks,” she explains, referring to the fire on a tram. According to local media like De Telegraafno injuries were reported among the passengers or the driver, but a lot of material damage was recorded. Cars and bicycles were also set on fire or destroyed with sticks and firecrackers, slightly injuring one person.
Police officers were also targeted, while slogans “Free Palestine” and “Jews cancer” were chanted. For the Dutch daily, there is no doubt: the thugs were “actively” seeking confrontation with the police. Three people have been arrested and others are currently being sought. At 11 p.m., local police reported new tensions. “A shooting took place at the Nieuwe Hemweg in Amsterdam. One person was injured and taken to hospital. No suspects have been arrested,” she said. published on his X account.
Were the shots fired in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Investigators have no answers to provide at this time. A state of emergency was declared on Friday November 8 in Amsterdam by the city’s mayor Femke Halsema, banning all demonstrations. And this, until November 14.
The November 7 investigation still ongoing
Four days ago, clashes broke out in the Dutch capital on the sidelines of a football match between Ajax Amsterdam and the Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Around 1 a.m., a group of Israeli supporters who had gathered in Dam Square were attacked. According to Dutch police, the groups of individuals behind the violence had responded to a call to target Jews launched on social networks. In total, local police reported 25 injured, including 5 seriously, and around sixty people were arrested.
The match, however, took place in a relatively calm atmosphere, which did not suggest a night of violence. Some Israeli supporters, however, did not respect the minute of silence in memory of the victims of the floods in Spain. A country that recently recognized the State of Palestine. In a video published on social networks, the origin of which could not be verified by AFP, what appears to be supporters of the Maccabi club also sang songs in Hebrew hostile to the Palestinians. In order to reconstruct the facts, the Dutch police are trying to cross-check all the videos filmed during the night. The possibility of taxi drivers being involved in a coordinated attack is also being studied.