#Amsterdam city council member says ‘#Maccabi #hooligans’ instigated violence and attacked #Palestinian supporters.
“Hundreds of supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv came to Amsterdam, held a very vocal rally in the main square before the incident, waving #Israeli flags, and also took down a Palestinian flag,” she said.
On Thursday, police had said on social media that they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of politically charged incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building.
Social media videos captured the reported incident, showing Israeli fans shouting slogans while an individual was taking the flag down. Before the game, videos showed crowds of Maccabi supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans.
The Israeli fans instigated the violence after arriving in the city and attacking Palestinian supporters before the match, an Amsterdam city council member said.
“They began attacking houses of people in Amsterdam with Palestinian flags, so that’s actually where the violence started,” Councilman Jazie Veldhuyzen told Al Jazeera on Friday.
“As a reaction, Amsterdammers mobilised themselves and countered the attacks that started on Wednesday by the Maccabi hooligans.”
Amsterdam resident and activist Mo Kotesh told Al Jazeera Israeli fans attacked innocent people on the streets, property and taxi drivers on Wednesday and took down a Palestinian flag.
Kotesh, of the Palestinian community in the Netherlands, said that they went to an area near the central Dam Square – as instructed by the municipality – to hold a peaceful demonstration on the day before the match.
He said he saw locals trying to counter the violence started against them and their properties by Israeli fans.
Israeli “hooligans” chanted songs swearing at Arabs, saying, “There are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left.’”
“The fact that Israeli fans riot in the middle of Amsterdam, sing racist songs and climb the walls of homes to tear down Palestinian flags … is part of the Israeli condition at the moment: A complete detachment between actions and consequences,” he said.
According to Veldhuyzen, the council member, “The mayor says the police did act, but I would say they acted not at the right moments.”
He told Al Jazeera: “They acted only to protect the Maccabi hooligans when Amsterdammers stood up to defend their own people and defend their own houses. And this is when the police showed up to protect the Maccabi fans when they ran away after attacking people.”
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he followed the news of the rioting with “horror”, adding that “the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted”.
#Propaganda #UEFA #Football #Israel #Propaganda #Netanyahu
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/8/israeli-football-fans-clash-with-protesters-in-amsterdam
