Amsterdam Arrests Pro-Palestinian Protesters as City Grapples With Post-Match Violence
Amsterdam police detained several pro-Palestinian demonstrators in a central square Wednesday after they defied a protest ban imposed following violence linked to a football match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The group, some carrying Palestinian flags, chanted, “Free Palestine” and “Amsterdam is saying no to genocide,” before police in riot gear encircled and detained them, later transporting them by bus.
Emergency security measures in Amsterdam were implemented in response to anti-Jewish riots following last week’s UEFA Europa League match, including expanded stop-and-search authority until Thursday.
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Tensions escalated after Maccabi fans reportedly attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag, sparking retaliation by pro-Palestinian groups. Five people were hospitalized. Amsterdam police said they are continuing their investigation, with four suspects out of 62 detained remaining in custody.
While less than 1% of Amsterdam’s population has been Jewish since the Holocaust, the city has seen a large increase in antisemitic incidents since the war in Gaza erupted more than a year ago. Police also made additional arrests after unrest in West Amsterdam, a neighborhood with a significant Muslim population.
The Netherlands, like other Western European countries, has experienced a surge in anti-immigrant political sentiment in recent years, with domestic tension surrounding the influx of Middle Eastern and North African Muslims coming to a head in last year’s snap elections, where anti-immigration parties scored major victories.
Under the leadership of prominent anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, the right-wing populist Party for Freedom secured the largest number of seats in the Dutch House of Representatives and is the largest of four parties in a governing coalition led by independent member Dick Schoof.
