Scores of pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested in Amsterdam after staging a banned protest against the recent violence involving Israeli soccer fans. Earlier Sunday, the Amsterdam district court refused to overturn the mayor’s decision to ban protests following riots in several city districts.
Hundreds of protesters rallied in Dam Square, holding signs reading “We want our streets back” and crying “Free Palestine.” The police in riot gear moved in within hours of the verdict to disperse the crowd, detaining many of the protesters. Detainees were picked up by waiting buses and released elsewhere in the city, according to AT5. Authorities could not confirm whether some protesters were still detained after the detentions.
Following the serious threats against Jews in Amsterdam, Frank van der Linde, a Dutch activist, asked for an emergency permit to hold a demonstration in Dam Square against the “genocide in Gaza” and the defeat of the right to protest, according to the Dutch national news agency ANP. The protest occurred despite a temporary ban on demonstrations announced by Mayor Femke Halsema on Friday.
The emergency measures were more police presence and face mask ban, which the city council extended to Thursday. On Sunday afternoon, the protesters in the square were charged. Many of the demonstrators insisted that their protest was not anti-Semitic. “This protest has nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” said Alexander van Stokkum, a 37-year-old demonstrator.
Tensions had been building ahead of a scheduled match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday. The situation turned ugly when Maccabi fans burned a Palestinian flag in Dam Square and vandalized a taxi, Amsterdam’s police chief, Peter Holla, said.
The Europa League game on Thursday ended peacefully, says the Ajax club. After the incidents, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has withdrawn from a visit to the UN Climate Conference to follow the situation.
