Dozens Arrested in Amsterdam After Defying Protest Ban

Police in Amsterdam have apprehended dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who disregarded a prohibition on public gatherings in the city. On Sunday, hundreds convened in Dam Square to advocate for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza and to voice their opposition to the imposed ban. The mayor had instituted a temporary prohibition on demonstrations following what she described as “hit-and-run” assaults targeting Israeli football supporters on Thursday night, subsequent to a game involving Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam. Concurrently, the Israeli government recommended that its citizens “categorically avoid” Israeli sports and cultural events when abroad, particularly mentioning the football match between France and Israel scheduled for Thursday in Paris. According to authorities, the assaults on Thursday, which resulted in five individuals being hospitalized, were driven by antisemitism, as the fans were specifically targeted throughout the city. This violence, which drew condemnation from leaders across Europe, the US, and Israel, has resulted in at least 62 arrests. The public outrage was intensified because these attacks coincided with the eve of commemorations for the Nazi pogroms against German Jews that occurred in November 1938. During World War Two, three-quarters of the Jewish population in the Netherlands perished in the Holocaust. Amsterdam police also reported disturbances the night preceding the match. Police chief Peter Holla indicated that there were incidents “on both sides,” including Israeli supporters taking down a Palestinian flag from a wall and igniting it, as well as assaulting a taxi. Mayor Femke Halsema of the city declared a ban on public assembly on Friday, effective at least through the end of the weekend, designating Amsterdam as a “high-risk security area.” However, demonstrators on Sunday contended that they ought to be permitted to express their opposition to Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the behavior of Maccabi supporters. Alexander van Stokkum, a participant in the demonstration, informed the AFP news agency on Sunday, “This protest has nothing to do with antisemitism. It is against Israeli hooligans who were destroying our city.” Other individuals conveyed to a Reuters journalist: “We refuse to let the charge of antisemitism be weaponised to suppress Palestinian resistance.” The news agency indicated that over 100 individuals were taken into custody for participating in the protest. Amsterdam police acknowledged that arrests had occurred but have not yet specified the total number. Subsequent to the prohibition on protests, Dutch activist Frank van der Linde sought an urgent permit to allow Sunday’s demonstration to proceed. On X, he stated his intention to protest what he termed “the genocide in Gaza,” asserting: “We will not let our right to demonstrate be taken away.” Amsterdam’s district court, however, rejected Mr. Van der Linde’s application, stating on Sunday that “the mayor has rightly determined that there is a ban on demonstrating in the city this weekend.” The Dutch national newspaper De Telegraaf reports that Mr. Van der Linde was among those apprehended. Previously, the Israeli embassy in the Netherlands cautioned Israelis in Amsterdam to steer clear of Dam Square, indicating that the gathering “may flare up into significant violent incidents.” Israel’s National Security Council has instructed its citizens to refrain from public demonstrations “of any kind” and to hide “anything that could identify you as Israeli/Jewish,” referencing the attacks on Thursday. The council asserted that “Preparations to harm Israelis have been identified in several European cities, including Brussels (Belgium), major cities in the UK, Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris.” Paris’s police chief has committed to deploying 4,000 officers within the stadium and throughout the French capital for the Nations League match scheduled for 14 November.