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| Gaza in the middle of Europe. Amsterdam riots turn into Jewish pogrom | |||
| 2024-11-09 | |||
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] The night of November 8 was unsettled in Amsterdam: fans of the Israeli football club Maccabi, as well as some random passers-by, were subjected to an organized attack. At first glance, the attack seemed well planned. The rioters acted in a coordinated manner and waited for victims in different parts of the city; they were aware of the addresses of the hotels where the Israelis were staying. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the clashes were a continuation of an earlier conflict between two ultra groups, and the Palestinian issue played a more background role. Nevertheless, the incident in Amsterdam creates a dangerous precedent that blurs the boundaries of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – and the likelihood of it recurring is quite high. FROM FAN CLASHES TO POGROM The clashes in Amsterdam initially did not go beyond the usual "fan riots". After the ill-fated Ajax-Maccabi match, which ended in a crushing victory for the Dutch team, several hundred Israeli fans gathered at Dam Square in Amsterdam. At the same time, pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Ajax fans gathered at the Amsterdam Arena stadium – according to various sources, between 70 and 150 people. To this day, there is no consensus on who exactly provoked the conflict: both sides chanted provocative slogans directed at their opponents. At the same time, as a number of European publications note, it was precisely the “overly offensive attacks” by Israelis against the Arab and Palestinian population of Amsterdam that provoked the first clashes. In addition, shortly before the match, the Israelis distinguished themselves with another stunt, tearing down Palestinian flags hung from nearby houses, which also did not add to the patience of the local residents. The police tried to push back the protesters, but they responded by throwing firecrackers and smoke bombs at the guards. About 30 fans were detained. The incident could have been considered over at this point, but a few hours later the riots flared up again with renewed vigor (engulfing the whole of Amsterdam), and the number of participants in the brawls increased tenfold. Not only fists and firecrackers were used, but also cold arms. At least ten people were wounded in the clashes, and two are still missing, bringing the total number of casualties to 60, according to the Israeli government. ISRAEL'S REACTION Benjamin Netanyahu's government took the incident in Amsterdam very seriously. Already in the first hours after the attack, the Prime Minister ordered the urgent dispatch of two transport planes to the rescue for the rapid evacuation of Israelis. The Israeli army tried to have its say by hastily dispatching a military mission to help the victims, but the operation was cancelled at the last minute by the Prime Minister's decision. The government considered the transfer of such significant forces to Europe unnecessary. In addition, a temporary ban was imposed on the departure of active IDF servicemen to European countries (primarily to the Netherlands) - to avoid new provocations from Palestinian activists. However, the army leadership continues to insist that it is ready to quickly deploy the mission again if the situation worsens. What happened in Amsterdam became the first serious test for the newly appointed head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Gideon Saar . In a conversation with his Dutch colleagues, he called the incident "horrific and provocative" and immediately flew to the Netherlands to work "in the field." Israel's permanent representative to the UN, Danny Danon, went even further and called what happened in Amsterdam a "Jewish pogrom," while calling on the Dutch authorities to "act as harshly as possible." It should be noted that Israeli politicians have so far limited themselves to the most vague formulations and have not placed responsibility for the attacks on specific organizations or individuals, which is partly due to a lack of operational data. Not a word was said about the “Iranian connection,” which has been a part of every scandal involving Israelis in the past. "GAZA OF EUROPE" The Dutch authorities, for their part, also tried to hush up the incident as much as possible, reporting the arrest of several dozen "ringleaders" of the conflict. However, Amsterdam law enforcement officers were stingy with comments and did not specify whether there were Palestinians among those detained. However, despite this, the incident caused mixed feelings among other Dutch politicians and public figures. For example, the leader of the right-wing "Party for Freedom of the Netherlands" Geert Wilders demanded the arrest and deportation of the people who attacked the Israeli fans. Wilders did not forget to take a swipe at the Dutch authorities, stating that the country "has turned into the Gaza of Europe." A number of opinion leaders even considered the incident to be a "planned operation by Hamas supporters." Others, however, took the side of the Palestinians, calling the actions of the Israeli fans a “low and unworthy act.” It should be further noted that the version about the pogrom being orchestrated by Hamas does not stand up to criticism: the movement did not comment on the incident in Amsterdam, and cases of using Palestinian symbols to “intimidate” Israeli fans, judging by law enforcement data, were episodic. Moreover, in a number of cases, pro-Palestinian demonstrators found themselves drawn into the brawl “out of inertia.” However, this does not mean that such conflicts should not be expected in the future. Quite the opposite: if both sides of the conflict do not react harshly enough, new clashes will only be a matter of time. And each side – whether pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian figures – will try to squeeze the maximum media effect out of the situation in order to discredit their opponents.
Two Israelis who left Amsterdam on Friday morning and flew to London said to a Channel 12 reporter on arrival in the UK that they were attacked on Wednesday evening — a full day before the soccer game — by Arab gangs in the city. The two, who gave their names as Oren And Or, said they were targeted as Israelis and beaten. They also said that they reported the attack to local police, who took no action.
It said the warning was based on “indications” in social media monitored by the ministry, including overt online coordination of plans for violent demonstrations. The ministry document shown by Channel 12 included a screenshot from an online post by a Dutch Palestinian group headed “No Zionists in UEFA/FIFA.” The ministry’s warning noted that protesters were being told not to carry Palestinian flags or other signs of Palestinian affiliation, and said the organizers were presenting the planned violent protests as constituting “a direct clash” with Israeli security forces and the Mossad. The report said the ministry drew up its warning document in the light of what it saw as “the open encouragement of violence by the organizers of the demonstrations,” and the fact that there would be many children and identifiable Israelis in Amsterdam for the Maccabi Tel Aviv-Ajax soccer match. The TV report said the Diaspora Affairs Ministry’s warning was shared with the Foreign Ministry and “a discussion was held.” But neither of the ministries, nor the National Security Council, issued warnings or guidelines to Maccabi or to the fans, some 3,000 of whom were said to have traveled to the Dutch capital for the game. Furthermore, said Channel 12, Mossad told its Dutch counterparts and Dutch police of concerns about violence and urged them to reinforce security at the stadium, hotels and the train station, but this “did not really happen.” | |||
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 Of 62 arrested, only ten Amsterdam attackers remain in custody Any further questions? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-11-09 10:14 |