Dutch police arrest dozens at pro-Palestinian rally in Amsterdam after football unrest

Dutch police took away more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters on Sunday who defied a ban on demonstrations in the capital Amsterdam following clashes this week involving Israeli football fans.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the capital’s Dam Square, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Amsterdam says no to genocide”, in reference to the Israel-Gaza war.

Israel denies allegations of genocide in its more than year-long offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

After a local court ratified the city council’s ban, police moved in, instructing protesters to leave and rounding up more than 100 of them, according to a Reuters journalist.

They were put on buses and dropped off on the outskirts of the city, police spokeswoman Ramona van den Ochtend said, without confirming how many had been picked up.

One protester was taken to an ambulance bleeding.

The ban, which authorities extended for another four days until Thursday, has been in place since Friday after attacks on Israeli football supporters following a match between visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam.

At least five people were injured in assaults that Dutch authorities and foreign leaders, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, denounced as antisemitic.