Israeli authorities have already managed to locate all Israeli citizens who were missing after Thursday’s violence that broke out after a football match in Amsterdam. This was announced by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TASR reports based on a report by the AFP agency.
“All the Israelis we lost contact with in Amsterdam have already been located,” the department said. Israeli media previously reported on three missing Israelis.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans faced attacks
Thursday’s attacks on fans of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam have already been condemned by Dutch, Israeli and world political leaders, including European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen and German Defense Minister Annalena Baerbock. Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog likened them to the unprecedented attack on Israel by militants of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Most recently, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined the political leaders in this regard.
“The violence against Israeli citizens in Amsterdam recalls the darkest hours of history. I strongly condemn him and express my sympathy to the injured. France will tirelessly continue the fight against heinous anti-Semitism,” Macron said on the X platform.
“We must not accept this. Anyone who attacks Jews attacks us all,” Scholz wrote on the same platform, adding that Jews must be allowed to feel safe in Europe.
Masked attackers in various locations
According to estimates, approximately 3,000 Israelis traveled to Amsterdam for the Europa League match. The Israeli newspaper Haarec claims that masked attackers attacked them in various places in Amsterdam on Thursday evening after the Israeli club’s big loss (0:5), allegedly in coordinated attacks. According to one of the fans, the attackers shouted anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian slogans in Arabic.
The Times of Israel (TOI) newspaper reported that at least ten Israeli citizens were injured. According to initial information, 62 people were detained, in the afternoon the Amsterdam police clarified that there are ten people in custody. AFP reports that five people were hospitalized. The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsemová, ordered the tightening of security measures after the attacks.
Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two evacuation planes to be sent to Amsterdam on Friday night. The Israeli army initially announced that it would send a rescue mission to the Netherlands for its citizens. However, even after the recommendation of experts, she reconsidered the step and ultimately did not proceed with it. Instead, it banned its members from traveling to the Netherlands.
