Anti-Israel clashes erupt after football match

The violence flared following the Europa League match between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Ajax

THE HAGUE:

Israeli and Dutch leaders on Friday condemned "anti-Semitic" clashes that erupted after a Europa League football match in Amsterdam overnight, with Israel sending rescue planes for their citizens.

The violence flared after the game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and home team Ajax, which won 5-0.

On Thursday, Amsterdam police said on social media that they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building. A pro-Palestinian rally demonstrating against the Israeli football club's visit was initially scheduled to take place near the stadium but was relocated by the Amsterdam city council for security reasons.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the "completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis".

"I followed with horror the coverage from Amsterdam," Schoof wrote on X, adding that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to assure him that "the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted".

The pair spoke after Netanyahu sent rescue planes to the Netherlands to transport the Israeli fans back home.

Netanyahu's office said he told Schoof that he "views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands", his office said.

Dutch media AT5 said the clashes occurred around midnight. Social media platforms were flooded with unverified images purported to be of the violence, but confirmed details of the clashes were few. AT5 said that numerous fights, as well as acts of vandalism, had occurred in the city centre.

"A large number of mobile unit vehicles are present and reinforcements have also been called in," it said.

The Israeli embassy in the United States said "hundreds" of Maccabi fans were "ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam tonight as they left the stadium following a game".