Violence Tied to Soccer Game Prompts Dozens of Arrests in Amsterdam

Dozens of people were arrested in Amsterdam on Thursday after incidents of violence tied to a soccer game between a Dutch and an Israeli team, which the Israeli government has described as antisemitic attacks.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that he had ordered two planes to be sent to the Netherlands to assist Israeli citizens.Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said on social media on Friday that Israeli officials were working with the Dutch authorities to investigate the attacks, which he said were driven by antisemitism.Israel’s Foreign Ministry said at least 10 Israeli citizens had been injured.

At least two citizens were still missing, according to the ministry.The Dutch police said in a statement on Friday that 57 arrests were made in connection with the unrest in Amsterdam, some of it at or near the Johan Cruyff Arena, where Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli team, was playing against Ajax, Amsterdam’s soccer team.The statement did not mention antisemitism or say whether anyone was targeted in the violence.The clashes happened in areas where people had gathered, some in support of the Israeli team and others to protest its arrival, the police statement said.Hundreds of Maccabi supporters gathered in Amsterdam’s center early Thursday afternoon, where the atmosphere was initially tense but gradually became calmer, the police said in the statement.

Ten people were arrested there before the game, the police said, mostly on charges of disrupting the public order.At another square called Anton de Komplein, which is near the stadium, people protesting the arrival of Maccabi Tel Aviv clashed with the military police after trying to make their way to the stadium.Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, had earlier prohibited the protest from happening at the stadium and ordered it to take place at that square.About 30 people were arrested in that confrontation on charges of disrupting the public order and setting off firew...