Published on: November 11, 2024, 08:06h.
Last updated on: November 11, 2024, 08:06h.
Reports have shown that during recent attacks in Amsterdam, Holland Casino provided a safe haven for numerous Israeli soccer fans who were caught in the turmoil near the establishment.
Prior to a soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and a Dutch team, a large group of enraged individuals gathered outside the casino, with the intention of causing harm.
Dangerous Mob Behavior
Reports suggest that the mob was incited to take action via chat groups, as detailed by The New York Times. Inside the casino, a significant number of Israeli fans sought safety from the violent events occurring on the streets of Amsterdam.
Various individuals in the vicinity, including taxi drivers, scooter riders, and pedestrians, were reportedly looking to target Israelis.
One young Israeli man sought refuge in the casino after being attacked outside, sustaining injuries to his face and hands by assailants on scooters, according to the Times.
“All his face was blood,” another Israeli in the casino, known as “Barak,” told the Times.
Approximately 50 rioters were reported near the casino, as indicated by Israeli news outlet Ynet. Some individuals within the mob were allegedly armed with weapons such as knives, sticks, or clubs.
Security personnel at the casino promptly secured the premises and directed the Israelis to a safer area within the building.
“About half an hour later, around seven police vehicles arrived,” one victim recounted to Israeli news media.
The police began escorting us out in small groups through an alternate route to avoid the attackers. They didn’t have a clear solution — just told us, ‘Go away and hope everything will be fine.’”
“We left in tiny groups. The whole situation was surreal. The city is filled with Palestinian flags, and nearly every taxi driver is Arab. If they realize you’re Israeli, there’s a lot of hostility,” a man identified as Or Shponder, was further quoted by Ynet.
Involvement of Casino Guard
Additionally, an unnamed security guard at Holland Casino was found to have posted in a chat group about disclosing the presence of Israelis in the casino, per the Times.
“The man who was employed by a subcontractor of the Holland Casino, was found to have been part of a social media group coordinating the violent assaults on Amsterdam streets after the match,” Ynet revealed.
Holland Casino has taken action by prohibiting the security guard from returning to work.
We informed his employers that he is no longer welcome here,” Holland Casino said in a statement. “Staff working for the casino directly or through subcontractors of the casino, serve interests of the establishment, our employees and our guests, first and foremost, and that was not the case here.”
A commenter on the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s leading newspaper, called for the arrest of the casino guard involved in planning attacks.
Before order was restored following the city-wide violence, five individuals were hospitalized, and numerous others sustained injuries, some of whom had broken limbs.
Holland Casino has strongly denounced the violent incidents and initiated its own investigation, as reported by Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), a Dutch TV station.
During the chaos, many within the mobs chanted “Free Palestine” and spewed anti-Israel sentiments while targeting or threatening Israelis, as disclosed by Reuters and other news outlets. Some taxi drivers were accused of attempting to run over Israelis on the streets of Amsterdam.
Special evacuation flights were arranged to bring thousands of Israelis back to Israel from Amsterdam.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof pledged that the “perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted.”
Prior to the orchestrated attacks against Israelis, reports suggest that some Israeli soccer fans engaged in provocations against individuals showing support for Palestinians. Instances of tearing down a Palestinian flag and anti-Palestinian chants were reported in Amsterdam, along with a confrontation involving a taxi driver.