Israel sends evacuation planes to Amsterdam after ‘shocking’ attack on Israeli soccer fans

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday asked his counterpart in the Netherlands to provide more security for Israelis after fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv FC  soccer team were attacked on Thursday by anti-Israel protesters.

Israeli air carrier El Al is sending planes to Amsterdam on Shabbat to evacuate Israelis, after the Israeli Defense Forces said it was standing down on a plan to “immediately deploy a rescue mission” to the city.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that up to 20 of its nationals were injured while seven others remain unreachable since the attacks.

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Speaking with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof after the attacks, Netanyahu said he takes the “premeditated attacks” seriously. He urged Schoof to bolster security for Israelis in the country. 

Israel has also added more phone lines at the embassy and in the Foreign Ministry’s situation room.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Thursday’s attacks the most alarming thing to happen to Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel.

“We woke up this morning to shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an antisemitic pogrom currently taking place against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam, Netherlands,” Herzog wrote on X.

“This is a serious incident, a warning sign for any country that wishes to uphold the values of freedom.” 

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There are reports that some fans were chanting anti-Arab slogans before the game.

The Dutch prime minister on Friday called the “antisemitic” attacks on Israeli soccer fans “unacceptable” and said the “perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted.”

Videos on social media showed multiple fights happening in the streets outside the stadium where Maccabi Tel Aviv FC was playing Ajax. Days earlier, Spanish media reported that anti-Israel agitators would protest outside the stadium to target Israel’s soccer club and its fans.

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The IDF has barred soldiers from flying to Amsterdam, but “exceptional requests will be examined individually,” the military stated.