Amsterdam attack: Israel does u-turn on rescue planes after 'very violent incident' at Europa League match

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has performed a U-turn on sending military rescue planes to Amsterdam following a "very violent incident" at a football match on Thursday night.

Netanyahu had planned to send military planes to the Netherlands to rescue Maccabi Tel Aviv fans after leaders of Israel and the Netherlands condemned what they described as anti-semitic attacks on fans of the club before and after a Europa League match between their team and Ajax.

In a new statement, Netanyahu's office says sending a "professional rescue mission to the Netherlands was not necessary". He initially said two planes would be sent to the Dutch capital. Israeli citizens will instead return home via civilian airlines.

The violence erupted on Thursday despite a ban on a pro-Palestinian demonstration near the football stadium imposed by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who had feared that clashes would break out between protesters and supporters of the Israeli club. Israel's Foreign Ministry have reported that ten Israelis have been injured so far, with three people missing.

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Horrific footage shared on social media appears to show fans being beaten and being chased with knives. One video shows a man being kicked on the ground and Israelis jumping into canals to avoid the protesters. "We experience the very thing they told us in school would never happen again," one person told Maariv.

Pro-Palestinians demonstrate at Amsterdam's Anton de Komplein square
(Image: ANP/AFP via Getty Images)





Supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv With fireworks
(Image: Getty Images)

Israel initially ordered that two planes be sent to the Dutch capital to bring the Israelis home. "The Prime Minister has directed that two rescue planes be sent immediately to assist our citizens," said a statement from Benjamin Netanyahu's office. "The mission will be deployed using cargo aircraft and include medical and rescue teams," the Israeli Defence Forces said.

Netanyahu added that "the harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked," and he "views the horrifying incident with utmost gravity". He demanded that the Dutch government take "vigorous and swift action" against those involved.

Netanyahu's office added that he had called for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X that he followed reports of the violence "with horror".

"Completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis. I am in close contact with everyone involved," he added, saying that he had spoken to Netanyahu and "emphasised that the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted. It is now quiet in the capital".

Geert Wilders, the hard-right nationalist lawmaker whose Party for Freedom won elections in the Netherlands last year and who is a staunch ally of Israel, reacted to a video apparently showing a Maccabi fan being surrounded by several men.

Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv stage a pro-Israel demonstration at the Dam Square
(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)





Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters gather at De Dam in Amsterdam
(Image: JEROEN JUMELET/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

"Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam. Arrest and deport the multicultural scum that attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets. Ashamed that this can happen in The Netherlands. Totally unacceptable," Wilders said.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also condemned the violence in a post on the social media platform X.

The National Security Council has issued a new warning to Israelis and Jews in the Netherlands. "Avoid movements in the street and lock yourself in hotel rooms. The externalisation of Israeli and Jewish symbols must be avoided."

Ajax won the Europa League match 5-0.

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