Israeli ‘hooligans’ target Palestinian symbols in Amsterdam: reports

ISTANBUL (AA) – A wave of violence erupted in Amsterdam when supporters of Israeli soccer club Maccabi Tel Aviv allegedly stormed through the city, tearing down Palestinian flags on private property and chanting incendiary slogans, according to reports.

The incidents, which took place before and after Maccabi’s match against Ajax, sparked widespread outrage, with reports of Israeli fans clashing with bystanders, vandalizing property, and setting a Palestinian flag alight.

Videos shared widely on social media depict Maccabi fans not only vandalizing private property but also attacking a local taxi driver and even confronting law enforcement officials.

Editor Max Blumenthal of The Grayzone News remarked on the footage circulating online, stating: “Many videos going around of Israeli soccer goons vandalizing property in Amsterdam, attacking cops and bystanders, and ripping down Palestinian flags. Now this fascist infestation is playing the victim.”

Leyla Hamed, a football journalist, also corroborated late Thursday Blumenthal’s account: “Hooligans from the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv marched through the streets of Amsterdam… They stole Palestinian flags from homes and even set a Palestinian flag on fire.”

Israeli officials, however, labeled the incidents as “violence against Israeli citizens.”

In a post on X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned what he described as a “very violent incident against Israeli citizens in Amsterdam.”

He asserted that the “harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked.”

Netanyahu demanded swift action from the Dutch government, urging authorities to “take vigorous and swift action against the rioters” and protect Israeli citizens.