Dutch PM slams 'anti-Semitic violence' against Israeli fans / Photo: Jeroen Jumelet - ANP/AFP/File
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Dutch PM slams 'anti-Semitic violence' against Israeli fans
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Monday slammed attacks against Israeli fans after a football match in Amsterdam, calling it "unadulterated anti-Semitic violence".
Schoof's announcement came after Amsterdam was rocked by violence between Israeli football fans and men described by Schoof as "with a migration background" on scooters in several areas of the city.
In attacks that sparked outrage around the world, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were briefly hospitalised after coming under assault following a match with the local Ajax team on Thursday evening.
"Four days after the attacks the shock, shame and anger remain. It was unadulterated anti-Semitic violence. We need hard action" to deal with those responsible, Schoof said at a press conference, saying that "intolerance cannot be met with tolerance".
After the match, groups of men on scooters engaged in "hit-and-run" attacks on Maccabi fans in areas of the city.
Police said the attackers were mobilised by calls on social media to target Jewish people.
The clashes came amid a rise in anti-Semitism globally since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Dutch police are investigating images from CCTV cameras as well as from testimony from witnesses who saw the violence, including the attacks on Maccabi fans as well as the conduct of the Maccabi fans themselves, Dutch media reported.
"I also know that there are images about the behaviour of the Maccabi supporters. This too is being investigated and it is important that all facts are revealed," Schoof said.
Maccabi fans burned a Palestinian flag on the Dam central square and vandalised a taxi before the clash at the Johann Cruyff stadium, Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla said Friday.
Unverified video on social media purportedly filmed on Thursday appeared to show Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans.
"But there is a big difference between destroying things and hunting Jews," Schoof said.
"There is nothing, absolutely nothing to serve as an excuse for the deliberate search and hunting down of Jews," said the prime minister, adding: "We have failed our Jewish community."
Schoof acknowledged however that there are many Dutch "who have great difficulty with what's happening in Gaza and there has to be a space for that too."
- 'Top priority' -
Only four people remained in custody and appeared before a Dutch judge on Monday, public prosecutors said.
Schoof said he saw video images and "that there is a specific group of youngsters, with a migration background who were overrepresented in the hit-and-run actions."
He called for the perpetrators to be arrested and prosecuted as quickly as possible. "This is our top priority," Schoof said.
He said their behaviour "in no way fits into the open and tolerant society that is the Netherlands," and that "It's clear that we have a lot of work to do in this country."
Schoof is to meet members of the Jewish community on Tuesday to discuss measures to combat anti-Semitism.
Amsterdam's mayor Femke Halsema on Friday announced an independent probe into the violence and emergency measures including a ban on demonstrations lasting until this Thursday.
Schoof said the police's actions during the violence remained part of the investigation.
Earlier newly appointed Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who spoke to his Dutch counterparts in the wake of the attacks, called the current number of arrests "very low."
S.Lambert--JdB
