Amsterdam [Netherlands], December 25 : A Dutch court has convicted five men for their involvement in the November 8 violent clashes between Israeli football fans and pro-Palestinian protestors in Amsterdam following a series of skirmishes, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.
The violence occurred between the groups surrounding a UEFA Europa League match between Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Netherlands' Ajax Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam district court found the men guilty of offences including kicking Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the street and inciting violence online. The most severe sentence was six months in prison for a man named Sefa, who was found guilty of engaging in public violence against multiple individuals, Al Jazeera reported.
According to Al Jazeera, videos that surfaced online showed Israeli fans chanting racist, anti-Arab songs, vandalising a taxi, and burning a Palestinian flag. Witnesses and a local councilman claimed that the Israeli fans instigated the violence, which led to clashes and arrests.
The prosecutor stated that the violence was not linked to football or anti-Semitic motives but rather was influenced by the situation in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.
"The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by anti-Semitism," said the prosecutor as quoted by Al Jazeera.
Another man identified as Abushabab M, faces a charge of attempted murder, but his case was postponed for a psychiatric evaluation. A further six suspects, including three minors whose cases will be handled privately, are also under investigation, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The police are looking into at least 45 individuals involved in the violence, including Israeli football fans. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema described the city as being "deeply damaged" by the violence, calling it "hateful anti-Semitic rioting," though she later expressed regret for comparing it to past "pogroms," acknowledging that the term had been used for propaganda.
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