Police in Amsterdam detained dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Sunday after they defied a temporary ban on public protests in the city. Hundreds gathered in Dam Square, calling for an end to the Gaza conflict and opposing the protest restrictions.
The ban, imposed by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, followed violent incidents targeting Israeli football fans after a Thursday night match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax. Describing the attacks as “hit-and-run” antisemitic assaults, officials said five people were hospitalized, with 62 arrests made. Leaders from Europe, the U.S., and Israel condemned the violence, which occurred just before Kristallnacht commemorations.
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Israel has advised its citizens abroad to avoid Israeli cultural and sports events, including this Thursday’s France-Israel match in Paris.
Amsterdam authorities reported disturbances even before Thursday’s game. Police chief Peter Holla noted that both Israeli and Palestinian supporters engaged in confrontational acts, including an incident where Israeli fans reportedly tore down and burned a Palestinian flag and assaulted a taxi.
The protest ban, declaring Amsterdam a “high-risk security area,” remains in place through the weekend. However, Sunday’s demonstrators argued for their right to voice opposition to both the Gaza conflict and actions of the Maccabi supporters.
“This protest has nothing to do with antisemitism,” Alexander van Stokkum, one of the demonstrators, told the AFP news agency on Sunday. “It is against Israeli hooligans who were destroying our city.”
Others told a Reuters journalist: “We refuse to let the charge of antisemitism be weaponised to suppress Palestinian resistance.”
According to reports, over 100 people were detained during the protest, though Amsterdam police confirmed the arrests without specifying a number.
Following the protest ban, Dutch activist Frank van der Linde submitted an urgent request for a permit to allow Sunday’s demonstration to proceed.
On X, Van der Linde expressed his intent to protest what he called “the genocide in Gaza,” adding, “We will not let our right to demonstrate be taken away.”
However, Amsterdam’s district court upheld the ban, stating on Sunday, “the mayor has rightly determined that there is a ban on demonstrating in the city this weekend.”
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that Van der Linde was among those arrested.
Earlier, the Israeli embassy in the Netherlands advised Israelis to avoid Dam Square, warning the event “may escalate into significant violent incidents.”
Israel’s National Security Council has told its citizens to avoid public demonstrations “of any kind” and conceal “anything that could identify you as Israeli/Jewish”, citing Thursday’s attacks.
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“Preparations to harm Israelis have been identified in several European cities, including Brussels (Belgium), major cities in the UK, Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris,” it claimed.
Paris’s police chief has pledged that 4,000 officers would be deployed in the stadium and across the French capital for the Nations League match on 14 November.
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