Five injured and dozens arrested in Netherlands after Israeli football match clashes

Five people have been injured and dozens arrested in Amsterdam after reported clashes between Israeli football fans and pro-Palestinian protesters.

Dutch police said that the injured had been taken to hospital but since left, and that 62 people were arrested after a Europa League soccer game on Thursday night, local time.

10 people remain in custody, Dutch chief public prosecutor Rene de Beukelaer confirmed. 

The clashes reportedly erupted despite a ban on a pro-Palestinian demonstration imposed by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who had feared that clashes would break out between protesters and supporters of the Israeli soccer club.

While announcing tighter security measures in the city, Cr Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were "attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks" and that riot police intervened to protect them and escort them to hotels.

She described the event as "anti-semitic hit-and-run squads".

"This is a very dark moment for the city, for which I am deeply ashamed," Cr Halsema said at a news conference, adding that perpetrators had managed to escape a large police presence.

She also noted that the Dutch counterterror watchdog said there was no concrete threat to Israeli soccer fans before the match.

Dutch authorities have designated Amsterdam as a "risk area", giving police greater powers to search people, with more police and military personnel on stand-by as a precaution.

One video verified by Reuters showed a group of men running near Amsterdam central station, chasing and assaulting other men, as police sirens sounded.

However, another verified video showed Maccabi fans setting off flares and chanting "Ole, ole, let the IDF win, we will f*** the Arabs", referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was "horrified by the anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens", which he called "completely unacceptable".

Mr Schoof said he had assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone that "the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted".

"I feel ashamed about what happened in the Netherlands," Mr Schoof later told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of European Union leaders in Budapest.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who he said had "expressed deep horror and shock over the criminal acts committed. 

Israel initially ordered that two planes be sent to bring fans home, but later the prime minister's office said it would work to help citizens arrange commercial flights.

Israel's national security ministry has also urged its citizens in the Dutch city to stay in their hotel rooms following the attacks, the prime minister's office said in a second statement.

The Israeli military added that all Israeli Defence Forces personnel have been banned from going to the Netherlands until further notice.

Police said fans had left the stadium without incident, but during the night various clashes in the city centre were reported.

"The mission will be deployed using cargo aircraft and include medical and rescue teams," the Israeli military said.

Other videos on social media showed crowds running through the streets and a man being beaten.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has asked the Dutch government to help Israeli citizens arrive safely at the airport, Mr Saar told his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp in a phone call on Friday.

Later, the foreign ministry said it had located all Israeli citizens who were unaccounted-for for after the clashes broke out.

"All the Israelis who were out of contact in Amsterdam have been located," the ministry said in a statement.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the attacks.

"Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Europe. And we are determined to fight all forms of hatred," she wrote on social media platform X. 

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed the EU head's sentiments in his own post, saying the attack "recalls the most shameful hours in history".

"I strongly condemn it and express my support to the injured," he said. 

"France will continue to fight against odious anti-Semitism relentlessly."

Despite the attacks, France will not change its plans to host a Nations League game against Israel next week, the interior minister said on Friday.

"France is not backing down because that would amount to giving up in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism", Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a post on X.

ABC/wires