Amsterdam's mayor has condemned "hit and run" attacks on Israeli football fans visiting the city
Femke Halsema said men on scooters roamed the city attacking supporters, and that it brought to mind pogroms against Jewish people from European history
The violence happened as Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv was in Amsterdam for a Europa League match
Five people were taken to hospital but were discharged this morning. More than 60 were arrested
Before the match, there was trouble between Maccabi fans and pro-Palestinian protesters
Maccabi supporters attacked a taxi and set a Palestinian flag on fire. There are also reports of supporters chanting racist slogans about Arabs
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Amsterdam attacks were like Nazi pogroms – Mayor
Edited by Barbara Tasch with Anna Holligan reporting from Amsterdam
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
We're now closing our live page of the violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the heart of the Dutch capital.
The violence has been felt across Western Europe, especially because for many it was a reminder of what happened all those decades ago in Germany not long before World War Two.
There were incidents in Amsterdam the night before "on both sides", as the police chief put it, with Maccabi fans seen tearing down a flag and later chanting anti-Arab slogans. But the mayor of Amsterdam said they were no excuse for what came later.
She and others were acutely aware of what tomorrow's date, 9 November, means in the European calendar – the night of the Nazi pogroms against Jews.
German leaders felt the Amsterdam riots keenly. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said they were "unbearable": Jews had to be able to feel safe in Europe, he said.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander said the same – that Jews had to feel safe at all times: "We put our arms around them and will not let them go." And France's Emmanuel Macron said the attacks were a reminder of the "most shameful hours in history".
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We'll soon be closing our live page of the violence that erupted in Amsterdam over the last days and the response from officials since this morning.
Here are the key details and development we learned today:
Today's page was edited by Owen Amos, Nathan Williams, Adam Durbin and Barbara Tasch. It was written by Seher Asaf, Sophie Abdulla, Sofia Ferreira Santos, Tinshui Yeung, Gabriela Pomeroy, Shaina Oppenheimer and Joe Inwood in Jerusalem and Anna Holligan in Amsterdam.
The Dutch capital has seen 36 hours of disorder in the build up to and after a Europa league match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Watch video of some of the clashes below:
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We've just heard from two people from Britain's Jewish community who attended the football match in Amsterdam.
Aaron, 33, says he went to the match with his friend Jacob, but they decided to leave early as they're not huge football fans.
“We got to one of the central areas and we saw mopeds turn up and some guys started beating an Israeli guy going back to his hotel," he says, adding they were referring to his religion and stomping on his head.
Aaron adds that they decided to intervene to help the injured man to his feet, before walking away.
“Shortly after, the same men that had attacked the Israeli came up to us right into our personal space, saying are you Jewish? We said no, we are British," he says.
One of the men then punched him in the face, Aaron says, sharing a photo of his bloodied nose with the BBC.
“I was bleeding and have a black eye," he says. "I’m ok but a bit shaken."
His friend Jacob, also 33, says he saw "10 people stamping and kicking" the man they had tried to help, adding they saw "lots of little gangs chasing people".
"They were looking for Jews not just Israelis," he says.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned "anti-Arab chants" and an "attack on the Palestinian Flag" in Amsterdam.
In a statement on X, the ministry says it has called on the Dutch government to investigate the incident and to "protect Palestinians and Arabs" living in the Netherlands.
As we've reported, Amsterdam police earlier said supporters of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv attacked a taxi and set a Palestinian flag on fire on Wednesday.
Videos posted to social media, verified by the BBC, show Maccabi Tel Aviv fans chanting racist slogans about Arabs and Palestinians. Other videos online show a Palestinian flag being torn from a building.
Police say violence continued into the early hours of Thursday, with Maccabi supporters becoming the target of "hit-and-run" attacks overnight in the capital. Five people were taken to hospital but were discharged this morning.
Israel's National Security Council is advising people to steer clear of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team's game against Virtus Bologna tonight.
In a post on X, the Israeli government mentions that after last night's incident, there are ongoing online calls to harm Israelis and Jews, which raises fears of a similar attack.
As a result, Israel is urging its people not to attend the EuroLeague basketball game this evening in Bologna.
The National Security Council also advises people to avoid “externalising” Israeli or Jewish identification marks.
Italian media are reporting that the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team will have police protection ahead of tonight's game.
We're now hearing more from Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
Schoof says the the attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam are a sign of "increasing antisemitism" in the Netherlands.
"I feel ashamed about what happened in the Netherlands," Schoof tells reporters on the side-lines of a European Union leaders' summit in Budapest. "It has been a dreadful night."
Schoof says he will leave the summit early to return to Amsterdam, adding that he hopes Israeli people will still feel safe in the Netherlands.
The first flight carrying Israelis from Amsterdam has landed in Israel, according to the Israel Airports Authority.
"The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv now has passengers evacuated from Amsterdam," Liza Dvir, spokeswoman for the airport authority told AFP.
The Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier advised fans to get on flights back to Israel as quickly as possible.
In an update, the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs says no Israelis are now unaccounted for in Amsterdam.
Previously, the ministry said, external three people had not answered their phones.
Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter
Gal Binyanmin Tshuva, 29, is a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan who was visiting Amsterdam from Israel.
He tells me that after the game on Wednesday night, he was attacked outside a casino in the city.
"We faced around 20 people who ran towards us. They asked me where I was from, and I said I was from Greece.
"They said they didn’t believe me and they asked to see my passport. I said I didn’t have my passport and then they beat me and pushed me to the ground and started kicking my face.
"I don’t remember anything after that, and I woke up in an ambulance with blood all over my face, and realised they had broken two of my teeth."
While he was blacked out, Tshuva said his friends told him seven or eight people beat him, before he was dragged to safety into the casino.
Referring to reports of Israeli football fans shouting racist slogans, he said "it is totally wrong of them to behave like that. We came here to enjoy the football. [But] I did not see any fans behaving badly."
The King of the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander, has spoken to Israeli President Isaac Herzog about last night's violence in Amsterdam.
He told Herzog that both he and his wife are shocked by the violence.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to antisemitic behaviour in our streets," the king says, adding that history "has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse, with horrific consequences".
"Jews must feel safe in the Netherlands, everywhere and at all times. We put our arms around them and will not let them go."
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, pictured earlier this year
The violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam appeared to have been planned, a Maccabi Tel Aviv supporter tells Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Speaking at Schiphol airport, Israeli supporter Pnina says she hid in the hotel until was safe to go outside.
"It seems like it was organised", she says, adding that attackers appeared to be looking for fans in yellow – the colour of the Israeli club's kit.
Another fan at the airport, Ron, tells NOS that people seemed to be waiting at the train station for Maccabi supporters.
"We were really afraid even to come to the airport," he says.
Ron adds he had planned another trip to Amsterdam in January, but has since decided "not to come again".
Joe Inwood
Reporting from Jerusalem
Maccabi Tel-Aviv is Israel’s oldest and arguably most successful football club, having won more league titles than any other.
They have a long history, being one of the few teams from this country to have made the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
As with many clubs, they also have a hard-core of “ultra” supporters, who have often been accused of using offensive and racist language.
In 2014, a group fans reportedly shouted racist slurs in the direction of Mahran Radi, an Arab-Israeli who was then playing for the club. Graffiti was also sprayed around Tel Aviv.
It allegedly said "we don't want Arabs at Maccabi!" and "Radi is dead".
In June, Israel’s “Kicking Out Racism” initiative tried to quantify the amount of racist language used by the fans of various football clubs. They found that Maccabi was second only to Beitar Jerusalem in terms of the quantities witnessed by researchers.
It is alleged those same sentiments were on display in Amsterdam this week, with fans chanting racist slogans, as well as refusing to mark a minute’s silence for the victims of the flooding in Spain.
Yesterday they were subjected, however, to serious violence and abuse – described by governments both here and in the Netherlands as pre-meditated and antisemitic.
We've just received a brief statement from Ajax, who played Maccabi Tel Aviv last night.
"After a sporting football match with a good atmosphere in our stadium – for which we thank all parties involved for the good cooperation – we were horrified to learn what happened in the centre of Amsterdam last night.
"We strongly condemn this violence."
Ajax won the match 5-0
The news conference has just finished – here's a recap of the main lines:
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Amsterdam attacks were like Nazi pogroms – Mayor
A reporter then asks if Halsema plans to take any action regarding "these boys on scooters who seem to be Moroccan-Dutch people".
Halsema responds by saying she can't comment specifically on the ethnicity and nationality of these individuals at the moment, as there is an ongoing investigation.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has just been asked about the Palestinian flag being burnt and videos showing making racist chants against Arabs.
For context, video emerged yesterday showing Maccabi fans going down an escalator in Amsterdam chanting racist slogans. Others show people climbing a building to remove a Palestinian flag.
The reporter tells Halesma she is "not describing this context" and that the incidents are "part of the story" which is not being told.
They also ask her about how Israel responded and the rescue planes it originally said would be sent to the Netherlands, saying the action insinuates Amsterdam is "completely out of control right now" and whether it is "out of proportion".
First, Halsema pushes back and says "we did describe the context".
"But what happened last night is not a protest. It has nothing to do with protest or demonstration," she adds.
She says what happened was a crime and there is "no excuse" for the events of last night.
Halsema describes the incident as a terrible moment for her city.
"It's against everything we're proud of in Amsterdam. I'm very ashamed of the behaviour that was shown last night. This is nothing like Amsterdam," she says.
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema is speaking again now, saying there are emergency measures in place for the entire city from this afternoon.
She says this means the imposition of a "risk area", which will allow police to carry out searches and place a ban on demonstrations. Face coverings will also be banned.
Halsema says extra police will be available, including military police.
She adds Jewish people living in Amsterdam were "shocked and very sad", describing what happened as a "shame" to the Dutch capital and damaging the city's global reputation.
Rene de Beukelaer, chief public prosecutor of the Amsterdam Public Prosecutor's Office, has just told reporters around 62 arrests have been made – with 10 people still in custody.
This includes adults and two minors – all of whom are men.
The others arrested have been fined for either throwing fireworks or possessing a knife, he says.
These 62 people are now being investigated by a special police team, de Beukelaer says.
The prosecutor also mentions that they are considering antisemitic motives.
Rene de Beukelaer
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