In spite of initial and typical media bellowing about alleged anti-Semitism, Police Commissioner of Amsterdam Peter Holla has spoken up about the recent violence between Israeli soccer fans and Palestinians residing in Amsterdam that began Nov. 6. He said the Israeli soccer fans began the violence. According to Holla, the Israeli fans occasioned the incidents by taking down Palestinian flags, shouting insults at Palestinian children, and setting a Moroccan taxi driver’s car on fire. It brought to his mind the situation in Gaza.
Despite the Commissioner’s statement, the Netherlands King and the Prime Minister have already apologized to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Some Israeli media accused Commissioner Holla of anti-Semitism and demanded his firing.
Grayzone editors Max Blumenthal and Wyatt Reed report on viral footage by a teenage Dutch YouTuber showing hooligan fans of the Tel Aviv Maccabi team attacking Dutch police, pelting private homes with stones, and assaulting people and police with metal pipes. The video offers the clearest evidence yet that Israeli ultras provoked the violence which gripped the city. Some of the hooligans were overtly attacking undercover police officers.
