Amsterdam - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs Things remained calm in Amsterdam on Friday night, after clashes broke out in several places between pro-Palestinian youth and Israeli football fans on Thursday evening. However, it was noted that many media reports ignored the reasons for the clashes, which appeared in a video circulating on social media, showing a number of Israeli fans climbing the facade of a house to tear down the Palestinian flag. The Amsterdam authorities also refused to approve a demonstration by supporters of the Palestinian cause to protest the visit of the Israeli team and its fans to Amsterdam. According to what local media in neighboring Belgium reported from the Belgian news agency, after the European football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, fans of the Israeli club were injured in violence with pro-Palestinian youth. According to the police, the rioters were actively searching for Israeli supporters. News of the use of violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam during the night from Thursday to Friday led to angry reactions at home and abroad. Other videos showed young men speaking in different dialects, including Palestinian, attacking fans and asking them to say “Free Palestine” so they would stop chasing him.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof entered into discussions with representatives of the Jewish community in Amsterdam on Friday evening. The discussion took place about “the impact of the events on them,” according to a spokesman for the prime minister. It was a private conversation, “so that they could talk to each other in peace.” Schoof spent most of the day at an informal European Union summit in Budapest. He did not cancel the visit on Friday morning, but he eventually returned earlier than scheduled. These events imposed themselves on the closing press conference of the summit that took place on Thursday and Friday in the capital of Hungary, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, began her speech by saying during the press conference on Friday evening: “Let me start by saying that I am outraged by the despicable attacks that targeted Israeli citizens in Amsterdam last night. This morning, we informed Prime Minister Schoff of the situation. I strongly condemn these unacceptable acts. Anti-Semitism has no place whatsoever in Europe. We are determined to fight it and to fight all forms of hatred. We want Jewish life and culture to flourish in Europe.”