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Agence France-Presse

Associated Press

A Dutch court on Tuesday convicted five men for their part in last month’s violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam that shocked the world and sparked accusations of antisemitism.
The Amsterdam district court found them guilty of a range of crimes, from kicking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the street to inciting violence in chat groups.
The court on Tuesday sentenced one man to 6 months in prison, another to 2 1/2 months and two to 1 month in jail. A fifth defendant received 100 hours of community service.
The Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came under “hit-and-run” style attacks in the early hours of November 8 after their European League match against Amsterdam giants Ajax.
Images of the violence, which left five fans briefly hospitalised, went around the world and sparked a furious reaction in Israel, including accusations of a “pogrom”.
Some of the violence was condemned as antisemitic, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offering to evacuate Maccabi supporters.
The violence, which garnered headlines worldwide, damaged Amsterdam’s reputation as a beacon of tolerance and a haven for persecuted religions, including Jews.
“It seems that the violence arose from strong pro-Palestine sentiments and dissatisfaction with the situation in Gaza, and related anger against the Israelis present,” the prosecutors’ office said in a statement at the conclusion of hearings two weeks ago.

The five defendants, who are all Dutch residents and aged between 19 and 32, were accused of public violence, theft and assault.
The November 8 game was allowed to go ahead after the Netherlands’ counterterror watchdog found there was no “concrete threat” to Israeli fans, and the match wasn’t considered a high risk. Even so, Amsterdam authorities banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the Johan Cruyff Arena.
According to an investigation, the day before the game the authorities reported several incidents, including Israeli fans tearing a Palestinian flag from an Amsterdam building and attacking a taxi.
The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison, for a man identified as Sefa O. for public violence against several people, and who prosecutors said played a “leading role” in the violence.
The court saw images of a man identified as O. kicking a person on the ground, chasing targets, and punching people in the head and the body.
The prosecutor said the beatings had “little to do with football” but added that “in this case, there was no evidence of … a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment”.
“The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by antisemitism,” said the prosecutor.
The attacks followed two days of skirmishes that also saw Maccabi fans chant anti-Arab songs, vandalise a taxi and burn a Palestinian flag.

Police said they were investigating at least 45 people over the violence, including that carried out by fans of the Israeli club.
Another man, identified as Umutcan A., 24, received a sentence of one month for assaulting fans and violently ripping a Maccabi scarf from one of them.
Prosecutors had called for heavier sentences against the men – of up to two years in the case of O.
The judge said that people convicted of such crimes would normally have to serve community service.
“But the court finds that, given the seriousness of the offence and the context in which it was committed, only imprisonment is appropriate,” she said.
Only one of the five men was in court to hear the verdicts.
A 22-year-old identified as Abushabab M., 22, faces a charge of attempted murder, but his case has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric assessment.
He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, while M. sat sobbing as his case was being heard.
Six more suspects will have their trials at a later date, including three minors. Under Dutch rules, proceedings for juveniles are held behind closed doors.
At an emotionally charged news conference the morning after the riots, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful anti-Semitic rioters.”
However, Halsema later said she regretted the parallel she had drawn between the violence and “memories of pogroms”, saying this word had been used as propaganda.


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The Netherlands

Police stand guard as Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters light flares at the Dam square, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on November 7. Photo: AP

Police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading them to the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium, in Amsterdam on November 7. Photo: AP

Protesters hold a Palestinian flag at a pro-Palestinian protest during the UEFA Europa League soccer match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Photo: dpa

Israeli army forces patients out of Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, doctors say

UN-branded vehicles are parked at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP

Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital, shows the damage inside the hospital, during the ongoing Israeli military operation in the northern Gaza Strip on December 18. Photo: Reuters

A Palestinian man walks past rubble from the area around Kamal Adwan hospital. Photo: Reuters

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) walks with soldiers at the seized Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, on Tuesday. Photo: Government Press Office / AFP

Israeli soldiers take position at an abandoned Syrian military base near the border with Israel on Thursday. Photo: AP

A boy carries an unexploded rocket propelled grenade at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted weapons shipments in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, on December 10. Photo: AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) walks with soldiers at Mount Hermon in the annexed Golan Heights, on Tuesday. Photo: Government Press Office / AFP

Syrian Kurds wave independence-era flags during a demonstration in support of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeastern city of Qamishli on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Israeli order to evacuate Gaza hospital ‘next to impossible’ to obey, medics say

Badly damaged Palestinian houses during the ongoing Israeli military operation in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

A fire burns as seen through a window from Kamal Adwan hospital, during the ongoing Israeli military operation. Photo: Reuters

Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital, shows the damage inside the hospital. Photo: Reuters

Israel to send planes to Amsterdam after violence against Israeli soccer fans

A pro-Palestinian protest in Amsterdam during the soccer match. Photo: dpa

Israeli football supporters and Dutch youth clash near Amsterdam Central station. Photo: X/iAnnet/via Reuters

Dutch police following the match in Amsterdam. Photo: AFP

Members of the Royal Military Police walk at Schiphol Airport. Photo: AFP

Dutch investigate alleged police violence after banned Amsterdam protest

Police officers detain a protestor at a protest on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Photo: AFP

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam despite a city ban on such gatherings. Photo: AP

News

World

Europe

Middle East

Sport

Football

The court found them guilty of public violence, theft, and assault, with one man receiving a six-month sentence stemming from riots surrounding a soccer match


The court found them guilty of public violence, theft, and assault, with one man receiving a six-month sentence stemming from riots surrounding a soccer match.


Israel

War and conflict

Israel-Gaza war