(Bloomberg) -- Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof canceled his trip to the United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan after attacks against Israeli football fans in the Netherlands.
Supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv, which played Dutch team Ajax, were assaulted in several areas of Amsterdam on Thursday night. Schoof said the cabinet will discuss the violent events on Monday and he will meet with various Jewish organizations to discuss antisemitism the following day.
“Due to the major social impact of the events of last Thursday night in Amsterdam, I will stay in the Netherlands,” he said via X on Saturday. He also said the parliament will soon hold a debate on the incident.
Young people on scooters crisscrossed the city in search of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and “hateful, antisemitic rioters and criminals attacked and beat up Jewish Israeli visitors who were guests in our city,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said on Friday.
Five fans were hospitalized as a result of the violence and as many as 30 people were injured. Authorities arrested more than 60 suspects.
The incident sparked an uproar in the Netherlands and condemnation from around the world, including from US President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands told Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to the president’s office.
Dutch police said some Israeli football fans set a Palestinian flag on fire and destroyed a taxi before the match. Videos circulating online showed Israeli fans chanting anti-Arab slogans.
Halsema said the behavior of some Maccabi supporters is “no excuse” for the riots and violence. She announced a series of security measures, including preventive frisking, a ban on face-covering clothing and a temporary prohibition of demonstrations across Amsterdam. The city council is expected to hold an emergency debate on the issue next week.
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