Published: 14:20, November 12, 2024 | Updated: 15:47, November 12, 2024
Five new arrests in attacks against Israeli soccer supporters, Dutch police say
By Reuters
In this image taken from video, police officers patrol in riot gear on the streets of Amsterdam, Nov 11, 2024, as the city is facing tensions following violence last week. (PHOTO / AP)

AMSTERDAM/THE HAGUE - Dutch police on Monday said they had arrested five more people for their suspected involvement in attacks on Israeli football supporters late last week which authorities have condemned as antisemitic.

The suspects are men aged 18 to 37 and living in the Netherlands, police said in a statement. Previously, 63 suspects had been arrested.

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Earlier on Monday Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof vowed that the Netherlands would focus all its efforts on bringing perpetrators of the violence to justice.

"The images and reports for Amsterdam and what we've seen this weekend of antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are nothing short of shocking and reprehensible," Schoof told a press conference, adding that police and prosecutors are still piecing together the details of what happened.

The attacks occurred early on Friday on Israeli soccer supporters following a match between visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam left at least five people injured. They were denounced as antisemitic by the Dutch authorities and foreign leaders including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Following the attacks, Israel sent extra planes to bring Maccabi supporters home.

Reacting to reports that there had also been altercations between Maccabi supporters and locals before the match on Thursday, Schoof said there was no justification for the violence against Israeli supporters.

Dutch police have said Maccabi fans on Wednesday attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag in Amsterdam. On the day of the game, Maccabi supporters were filmed chanting anti-Arab slogans in videos verified by Reuters.

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"We are well aware of what happened earlier with Maccabi supporters but we think that's of a different category and we condemn any violence as well, but that is no excuse whatsoever for what happened later on that night in the attacks on Jews in Amsterdam." Schoof said.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands will impose controls on its land borders, all of which are with fellow countries in the EU's Schengen border-free zone, and some flights from within the Schengen zone from Dec 9, the Migration Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The controls are set to last six months, part of a wider crackdown on migration proposed by the right-wing coalition led by the anti-Muslim nationalist PVV party of Geert Wilders. They follow a similar move by neighbouring Germany.