4 anti-Israel Amsterdam ‘pogrom’ attackers remain in custody: report
Only four of those arrested in connection with the horrific attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam were still in custody Saturday, even as Dutch authorities said they are now probing if they missed warning signs of potential violence highlighted by Israel in the days before the chaos.
There were 63 people detained following the Thursday night horror, when gangs of anti-Israel mobs viciously set upon Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans as they were leaving a Europa League match.
Only four of those arrested remained in custody Saturday, the Times of Israel reported, citing Dutch police.
The suspects are expected to be tried for public violence under a fast-track hearing process, according to Chief Prosecutor Rene de Beukelaer, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Those released are suspected of hurling verbal insults and tossing fireworks, officials said.
“The investigation that we started during the night focuses on suspects who can be seen on the film footage,” De Beukelaer explained.
“We are also investigating whether there are connections between these suspects and how they came to these violent actions. We are also investigating whether it was organized,” the chief prosecutor said.
At least five people were treated for injuries at a hospital, while nearly 30 came away from the onslaught with less serious wounds.
The Dutch government is investigating if warning signs were missed in the days leading up to the attacks – which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send places to evacuate citizens from the Netherlands.
“An investigation is still being conducted on possible warning signs from Israel,” Justice Minister David van Weel said in a letter to Parliament late Friday, the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli security services identified a “flare-up” on Dutch social media ahead of the soccer match, including calls by pro-Palestinian groups to hold a violent protest near the stadium, a senior Israeli security official said.
“Due to this, the Mossad passed a warning to security services in the Netherlands with a request to immediately and significantly reinforce the security for Israelis in the area of the stadium and across the city, with an emphasis placed on hotels where the fans were known to be staying,” they told the outlet.
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry — which monitors antisemitism around the globe – also made up a warning document on Wednesday that highlighted the “very high risk” of such attacks, Israel’s Channel 12 news reported.
The report said the ministry’s warning was shared and discussed with the Foreign Ministry.
Israel’s National Security Council, however, was not briefed on the threats and thus did not issue a warning to the public – including the 3,000 fans who traveled to Amsterdam to see the game.
The attacks are believed to have been organized by Islamic elements in the Netherlands and not by Iran, which has been accused of sponsoring antisemitic violence elsewhere in Europe, the Times of Israel said.
Going forward, Israeli Sports Minister Miki Zohar cautioned Israeli fans against attending upcoming matches in Europe – though the National Security Council still has not issued a formal warning and reportedly has no plans to update its current travel guidance.
Some witnesses said the Dutch security forces were nowhere to be found when the “pogrom” of anti-Israel attackers descended on Jewish fans.
“It was a pogrom. If there had been Internet in ’38, that’s what Kristallnacht would have looked like,” one shaken victim recalled.
An Israel Defense Force officer in town for the soccer game told The Post that his friend was senselessly beaten by a group of 15 people till the bloodied pal shouted, “Free Palestine!’’
An Israeli-American tech worker added, “These attacks resurfaced October 7 for us.”
