Dutch police stop pro-Palestinian rally after football violence By Reuters

Written by Anthony Deutsch

Riot police in Amsterdam began breaking up a protest by Palestinian supporters on Sunday after a court upheld a ban on protests following this week’s clashes involving Israeli soccer fans.

Hundreds of protesters defied a ban to gather in Dam square in the Dutch capital, chanting for an end to violence in Gaza and “Free Palestine.”

But after the local court accepted the city authorities’ ban, the police moved in, ordering the protesters to leave. Several people were dragged away by police, a Reuters reporter saw.

The three-day ban was imposed from Friday after an attack on Israeli football fans following Thursday’s football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam.

At least five people were injured in the early hours of Friday, as Israeli fans were attacked by what Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema described as “hit and run gangs”.

The prosecutors said on Saturday night that four suspects were still in custody on suspicion of violence, including two children, while 40 people were fined for causing public disturbance and 10 for crimes including destroying property.

They added that they expect more people to be arrested.

A large group of Maccabi fans were seen in a video posted online by news site Bender armed with sticks, pipes and stones and clashing twice with rivals as they marched into town after the match.

The video was not verified by Reuters.

Local police chief Olivier Dutilh told the court on Sunday that the ban was still necessary as anti-Semitic incidents were also reported on Saturday night, local TV station AT5 reported.

Dutilh told the court that people were thrown out of taxis and threatened by others who asked to see their passports on the streets. Reuters could not confirm the incidents.

The Netherlands has seen an increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the Gaza war began in October last year.