Dutch police have made five more arrests in connection with violence after a match involving an Israeli soccer team in Amsterdam on Thursday night.
Five men, all from the Netherlands, aged between 18 and 37, are suspected of “public violence against persons” before and after Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match with local team Ajax.
Unrest flared again in the city on Monday night when an empty tram and a police car were set on fire. According to Dutch reports, some rioters shouted “Free Palestine”.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said earlier on Monday that “anti-Semitic attacks against Israelis and Jews” were “nothing short of shocking and reprehensible.”
Protests were temporarily banned in Amsterdam until Thursday, although a pro-Palestinian demonstration was allowed to take place in a park away from the centre. Activists want another protest to take place outside Amsterdam city hall.
Last week, young men on scooters rode through the Dutch capital in “hit and run” attacks on Maccabi supporters after a Europa League match, authorities said.
Five people were treated in hospital and others suffered minor injuries.
The five new arrests are among 63 announced by authorities since the violence. One of the five people has been released from custody but remains a suspect.
Police also made several arrests following fresh unrest in the city on Monday. No injuries were reported.
Dozens of young men in black cars were damaged in the western suburbs, where trams were attacked on ’40-’45 Square. Video posted on social media showed a tram being attacked with fireworks and its windows broken.
The fire on the tram was quickly extinguished and riot police cleared the square and made arrests, ANP news agency reported. A police car was burned elsewhere.
Schoof promised that the Netherlands would focus on bringing the perpetrators of Thursday’s violence to justice.
“The images and reports coming out of Amsterdam and what we saw this weekend of anti-Semitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are truly shocking and reprehensible,” he told journalists. ”.
He also commented on reports that Maccabi supporters attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag in Amsterdam, while chanting anti-Arab slogans.
“We are well aware of what happened before with Maccabi supporters but we think it is in a different category and we also condemn any violence, but that is not the reason excuse what happened later that night in the attack on the Jews in Amsterdam,” he said.
The broader ban on pro-Palestinian protests has angered activists.
Some have argued that they should be free to speak out against Israel’s actions in Gaza and those of Maccabi’s supporters.
Police Chief Peter Holla said there were incidents “on both sides” during Thursday’s clashes.
Elsewhere, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Europa League match on November 28 has been moved from Istanbul to the Hungarian city of Debrecen. European football governing body Uefa said the match with Besiktas will take place without spectators according to the decision of Hungarian authorities.
The violence in Amsterdam last week was condemned by leaders across Europe, the US and Israel. For many, something particularly shocking happened on the eve of the anniversary of the Nazi pogrom against Jews in Germany in November 1938.
Three-quarters of the Jews of the Netherlands were murdered in the Holocaust during World War II.
Reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Europe have increased since the beginning of the year war in Gaza just over a year ago.
