The Full Story of the Amsterdam Incidents: What Are the Implications for Palestine Supporters in Europe?

On Friday, Dutch authorities decided to ban demonstrations in the capital, Amsterdam, and the Amstelveen area for three days following riots incited by Israeli supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv team after their loss to Ajax Amsterdam in a European League match.

Amsterdam’s Mayor Femke Halsema, in a joint press conference with city police and public prosecutors, declared the entire city a “security risk area.”

Halsema stated, “All demonstrations are banned, starting from noon today and including the weekend, in Amsterdam and Amstelveen,” as part of a series of new measures that allow police to conduct preventive searches.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans caused chaos and vandalism in the Dutch capital following the match, expressing provocative chants against Arabs and Palestine.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported tensions escalated between Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Palestine supporters after the Israeli team supporters tore down a Palestinian flag from a building and provoked Arab-origin taxi drivers in Amsterdam.

Before the match, other footage showed Israeli fans provoking the Dutch crowds by refusing to observe a moment of silence for the victims of the floods in Valencia, Spain, even setting off fireworks while the rest of the audience remained silent.

Activists considered this behavior a response to Spain’s recognition of the State of Palestine and its condemnation of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and its opposition to arms trade with Israel.

Where Did the Rioting Begin?

Dr. Nour Abdel Razzaq, a member of the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Community in the Netherlands, told Arabi21 that the incident began with the arrival of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans last Wednesday, who tried to provoke Arabs, Muslims, and Palestine supporters near the stadium.

Abdel Razzaq added that there was no presence of Palestine supporters around the stadium especially since the police had prohibited any pro-Palestine demonstrations in that area to avoid clashes, noting that Dutch team fans also supported the occupation, as the Dutch team is known globally for supporting Jews.

He continued, a number of neighborhoods near the stadium area have a large Arab and Muslim population and Palestine supporters. After the match ended with the Israeli team’s defeat, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans engaged in riots, tearing Palestinian flags on balconies, and clashing with Arab car drivers, which was merely self-defense.

The Incident’s Implications for Palestine Supporters

Abdel Razzaq expressed concerns about the occupation supporters and the right-wing government in the Netherlands exploiting and magnifying the event to take measures and decisions against Palestine supporters.

He noted that over 60 people were arrested and the Dutch police announced an investigation, but the crisis is not in the arrests, but rather the fears of decisions to ban pro-Palestine demonstrations or raising the Palestinian flag, especially as there is a magnification by Hebrew media and also by the extreme right media, and there has begun a magnification of charges such as kidnapping among others.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed in a statement, “Ten Israelis were injured, and contact was lost with two others after they were attacked in Amsterdam after the match.”

According to “Israel Hayom,” five Israeli fans were injured in Amsterdam during the riots, while Channel 14 stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar were briefed on the incident.

Ajax Amsterdam: The Most Jewish Club

Ajax Amsterdam is known as “the Jewish club” for several historical and cultural reasons dating back to the mid-20th century, due to the historical roots when Amsterdam had a large Jewish community. Over time, many Ajax fans belonged to this community or sympathized with it before and during World War II, and there was a strong link between the club and some Jewish figures, whether among fans or players.

Ajax fans used symbols and songs referring to Jewish identity, such as raising flags bearing the Star of David or chanting Jewish-themed slogans. This orientation was an expression of holding onto cultural identity and perhaps a challenge to competitors who use the term “Jewish” in a hostile context.

Despite these details, the Ajax club did not escape attack by the Israeli team and Hebrew media, which incited against the Dutch football team, Ajax Amsterdam, considering that it did not condemn what they described as “attacks on Israelis from Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and events that occurred after the match.”

Channel 14 claimed, “Even hours after the terrible massacre that many Jews attending a football match in the city endured, Ajax, known for its love for Israel, did not issue a single condemnation message on social media,” according to its description.

Channel 14 also alleged that “many Jews who attended the football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax in the European League were brutally attacked by a crowd of Muslims who orchestrated a massacre that reminded the entire country of scenes we all want to forget.”

Has Europe Tasted the Bitterness of Violence It Supported?

The incident foreshadows a serious development that Europe “whose rulers support the Israeli occupation” may witness, especially with the increasing number of Palestine supporters in Europe, which forebodes future frictions between Israeli team fans and Palestine supporters.

In this regard, Hossam Shaker, an expert in European and international affairs, told Arabi21 that the incident shocked the occupation’s audience, and that European authorities at the government or local administration level realized that supporting the war in Gaza and its continuation leads to confusion and shocks, and when the occupation’s audience is allowed to come and provoke, it leads to more violence and reactions that may get out of control.

Shaker added that what is read from the scene is that the continuation of the genocidal war may lead reactions to get out of control, and the occupation’s claims of ability to continue and expand have become illusions, especially with the tightening noose on the occupation’s audience, and today the occupation’s government began to study its future options and began to restrict its audience’s movements abroad.

The incident will have its aftermath, especially as the occupation’s audience has become certain and realized that the Gaza war has costs and consequences, and they will not be able to go as far as before, and the matter was not usual, but it was a racist move raising slogans glorifying genocide, and they thought it was an easy matter to digest anywhere, which shocked them.

Shaker pointed out that the rioting incident by the Israeli team’s fans was not the first, as the scene was repeated in March 2024 in Athens when they assaulted Arab fans and Palestine supporters, which forewarns that the continuation of the war continues with it this violence may restrict the occupation’s audience.

Hiding Israeli Identity

The Israeli National Security Council issued a message to the public, urging them to avoid attending the upcoming Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Bologna, Italy, as reported by “Maariv” on Friday.

The Council added that there are concerns that recent events might lead to a wave of imitation and repeat incidents of disturbances and attacks against Israelis abroad.

The message stated, “The National Security Council advises Israelis to avoid attending the Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Bologna and to minimize any visible signs of Israeli or Jewish identity wherever possible.”

In the same context, Netanyahu ordered the preparation of an action plan to avoid violence during sports events, saying in a statement issued after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry to oversee the evacuation of Israelis from Amsterdam: “I have instructed the head of the Mossad and other officials to prepare our action plans and our warning system and our organization in the face of this new situation.”

Previous Rioting Incidents by the Israeli Team’s Audience

The rioting incidents in Amsterdam are not the first for the Israeli team, as the team continued rioting in several matches in the past.

In March 2024, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans assaulted a fan who chanted “Freedom for Palestine” before the start of a match against Olympiacos in Athens.

In July 2023, UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) took disciplinary action after a match of the Israeli team in the Champions League qualifiers against Hamrun Spartans in Malta was disrupted following chants of “Palestine, Palestine” by local fans.

Tensions escalated after the guests led by two goals, where Maccabi fans threw fireworks onto the field at Centenary Stadium in Ta’ Qali in response to the local fans’ chants, and the match was paused for 30 minutes as a result.

Five Israeli fans were arrested, according to the “Times of Israel”, and “Malta Today” reported that two confessed guilty in a local court and were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for three years and fined 300 euros ($334) each.

In 2017, the Israeli police arrested five suspects aged between 18-25 years involved in rioting and throwing fireworks in the stadium during a football match between Maccabi Haifa and Beit Yam, after the second goal was scored against Maccabi. The Israeli police, with the help of the stadium security unit, found the suspects and transferred them for investigation. They were detained in the central court in Haifa.