Leaders condemn 'anti-Semitic' football clashes in Amsterdam

THE HAGUE, Nov 08 (AFP): Israeli, Dutch and European leaders on Friday condemned "anti-Semitic" clashes that erupted in Amsterdam overnight after a Europa League football match, with Israel sending rescue planes for their citizens.
The violence flared after the game between home team Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv that Ajax won 5-0.
Five people were hospitalised and 62 arrests were made as a result of the clashes, police said.
As fans of both teams gathered in Amsterdam for Thursday's match, police said were on alert and monitoring several incidents including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building.
Violent clashes then appear to have erupted around midnight, Dutch media AT5 reported.
Social media platforms were flooded with unverified images purported to be of the violence, but confirmed details of the clashes were few.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the clashes and said the "shocking images" of a "pogrom", reminiscent of last year's Hamas attack on Israel.
"We see with horror this morning, the shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an antisemitic pogrom currently taking place against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam, Netherlands," Herzog said on X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two planes be sent to the Netherlands to bring the Israeli fans home.
The first plane took off from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv heading for Amsterdam on Friday.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the "completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis".
"I followed with horror the coverage from Amsterdam," Schoof wrote on X, adding that he had spoken with Netanyahu to assure him that "the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted".
Netanyahu's office said he told Schoof that he "views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands", his office said.
Dutch authorities said they would hold a press conference at 1100 GMT.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was "outraged" by "vile attacks targeting Israeli citizens in Amsterdam".
"I strongly condemn these unacceptable acts," von der Leyen wrote on X.