Amsterdam police 'overtaken' by speed of attacks on Israel fans: report
Amsterdam police trying to contain attacks on fans of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv in November were overwhelmed by assailants' hit-and-run tactics and rapid incitement via social media, according to a report published on Monday.
The violence in the early hours of November 8, 2024, followed two days of skirmishes that saw Maccabi fans chant anti-Arab songs, vandalise a taxi and burn a Palestinian flag.
The attacks left five people briefly hospitalised.
Police acted with "great commitment, flexibility and professionalism", concluded the report by an oversight body in the justice ministry.
Authorities were able to deploy 1,200 officers, drones, arrest squads, horses and water cannons but were still caught off-guard by the fast-moving events.
"Although the police acted decisively, they were also overtaken at times by the speed and unpredictability of developments," the report noted.
"Blitz attacks by small groups of rioters, using taxis and scooters to move around quickly and target Jewish people on the streets, made different demands on the approach taken by the police."
Social media was another key factor in making the violence difficult to contain, the report said.
"People were able to spread messages and images at lightning speed, thereby heightening existing tensions," it noted.
"Relatively minor incidents, such as the removal of a Palestinian flag by Maccabi supporters, were shared, interpreted, and magnified within minutes."
The report also criticised reactions in the immediate aftermath of the violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog talked of an "anti-Semitic pogrom" while Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema drew parallels between the violence and "memories of pogroms".
She later regretted this, saying the word had been used as propaganda.
"What stands out is the speed with which everyone expressed an opinion in the aftermath of the events," said the report.
"Politicians, administrators, and the media immediately jumped to conclusions, without having any insight into exactly what had occurred."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
7 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Trump, Putin To Meet As Soon As Next Week
It appears the Wednesday Witkoff-Putin meeting in Moscow has led to a breakthrough of sorts, coming right down to the wire of threatened fresh US anti-Russia sanctions set to be imposed Friday. Presidents Trump and Putin plan to meet in person as soon as next week, the NY Times is reporting. A meeting with Ukraine's leader would then follow. 'President Trump intends to meet in person with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as soon as next week, and he plans to follow up shortly afterward with a meeting between himself, Mr. Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the plan,' the breaking report says. There's as yet been no indicators from the Russian or Ukrainian sides of the plan, or even that Moscow is aware of an 'agreement' to proceed with a meeting. According to more details: Mr. Trump disclosed his plans in a call with European leaders on Wednesday, the people said. The meetings would include only those three men, and would not include any European counterparts. The European leaders, who have tried to play a coordinating role on meetings to end the violence between Russia and Ukraine while supporting their European neighbor, appeared to accept what Mr. Trump said, one of the people familiar with the call said. Anti-Moscow critics have said that the Kremlin is just buying more time with Washington while its military operations in Ukraine proceed at full pace. Will a breakthrough actually come of this? Trump has said of a fresh call with European leaders that they agreed with him that 'the war must end' – but that it must be 'an honest end'. There must be something substantial cooking if both sides agree to a meeting, which would be the first such face-to-face interaction between Trump and Putin of the US president's second term. * * * Bloomberg is reporting Wednesday that President Donald Trump suggested he would hike tariffs on more countries buying Russian energy, including China, as the deadline for ceasefire looms, and as US envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow trying to make headway with President Putin. Witkoff's talks with Putin lasted three hours, according to Russian media, after Witkoff landed in the country early on Wednesday. Images in Russian media showed the two men smiling and shaking hands in an ornate, gilded hall – after having met for several rounds of meetings spanning prior months. Getty Images The Kremlin in follow-up called it 'constructive and useful' – according to TASS. They discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine, RIA Novosti stated. Last month, Trump's outlook turned more dire and negative on the chances for peace. 'We thought we had [the war] settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever,' he had said. And last week witnessed the single deadliest airstrikes on Kiev since the war's start – with the death toll having risen to 32 after another man recently died of his injuries, following the collapse of a nine-story apartment that was struck. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has of course welcomed the prospect tougher US sanctions and tariffs on nations buying Russian oil. He has made clear Ukraine's perspective that Putin would be forced into a serious peace deal if his war machine ran out of money. Another u-turn on Russia — zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 6, 2025 Wednesday saw a fresh Russian attack in the central region of Zaporizhzhia, reportedly striking a holiday camp which left two dead and 12 wounded. 'There's no military sense in this attack. It's just cruelty to scare people,' Zelensky said in the aftermath. As for the dialogue with Trump's envoy Witkoff, part of it took place through conversation with Putin's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, with the two taking a relaxed stroll through a public park in Moscow, which apparently caught some random Muscovites by surprise. Our exclusive footage of Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev taking an early morning walk through Zaryadye park next to the minimal visible security as ordinary Muscovites appear surprised to find themselves among such company. — Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) August 6, 2025 So the Kremlin appears to be sending calm messaging, likely in hopes that Trump will hold off on implementing the more dire and drastic of consequences and threats. Dmitriev has at the same time said he is confident Moscow and Washington can find common ground through diplomacy and honest dialogue. The CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) took to X after the Witkoff meeting and thanked his followers in English for 'kind wishes for a successful visit of Steve Witkoff to Moscow,' adding that 'Dialogue will prevail.' Thank you all for your kind wishes for a successful visit of @SteveWitkoff to Moscow. 🇷🇺🇺🇸🕊️ Dialogue will prevail. 🤝 — Kirill A. Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) August 6, 2025 Will it? Let's hope read: The American Academy Of Pediatrics: Mining Children For Profit
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
Israel to partially reopen Gaza private goods trade
Undefined Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on humanitarian aid, the defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories said on Tuesday. 'As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening,' COGAT said. Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza for 22 months and imposed a total blockade on March 2, partially lifted in May to allow a US-backed private agency to open food distribution centres. Aid convoys and airdrops by Arab and European militaries resumed last month, as UN-mandated expert reports warned famine was unfolding in the war-torn territory. The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, 'to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation'. Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said. The agency said more than 300 aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, a larger number than in previous days, and that hundreds more were 'still queued up for UN pickup'.
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
Expanded Gaza war risks ‘catastrophic consequences'
AFP | United Nations A top UN official warned yesterday that expanding Israeli military operations inside Gaza would risk 'catastrophic consequences,' as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considered total occupation of the Palestinian territory. A widening of the war 'would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza,' Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told a Security Council meeting. 'There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza or the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict,' Jenca said. During a visit to an army training facility earlier yesterday, Netanyahu said: 'It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.' Over the 22 months of war, Israeli forces have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, where repeated warnings of famine have increased pressure on Netanyahu's government to halt the fighting. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
