Netanyahu asks Dutch leader for increased security after attacks, IDF plans rescue mission in Amsterdam
Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam for a UEFA match were attacked by pro-Palestinian protesters on the streets outside the stadium
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday asked his counterpart in the Netherlands to provide more security for Israelis after fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv FC soccer team were attacked on Thursday by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Additionally, the Israeli Defense Forces said it would “immediately deploy a rescue mission” to Amsterdam led by the IDF’s Home Front Command, according to the Times of Israel.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that up to 20 of its nationals were injured while seven others remain unreachable since the attacks.
Speaking with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof after the attacks, Netanyahu said he takes the “premeditated attacks” seriously. He urged Schoof to bolster security for Israelis in the country. Meanwhile, Israel is doing its own part to take care of its own in the Netherlands.
Planes have been sent to the Netherlands to bring back Israelis, including those who were injured, according to the Times of Israel. They have also added more phone lines at the embassy and in the Foreign Ministry’s situation room.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Thursday’s attacks the most alarming thing to happen to Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel.
“We woke up this morning to 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 wrote on X.
“This is a serious incident, a warning sign for any country that wishes to uphold the values of freedom.”
The Dutch prime minister on Friday called the “antisemitic” attacks on Israeli soccer fans “unacceptable” and said the “perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted.”
Videos on social media showed multiple fights happening in the streets outside the stadium where Maccabi Tel Aviv FC was playing Ajax. Days earlier, Spanish media reported that anti-Israel agitators would protest outside the stadium to target Israel’s soccer club and its fans.
The IDF has barred soldiers from flying to Amsterdam, but “exceptional requests will be examined individually,” the military stated.
