The officers dispersed an illegal gathering on the city’s Dam Square on Wednesday
Pro-Palestinian activists have clashed with police in the Dutch city of Amsterdam as officers broke up an illegal demonstration.
Hundreds of people gathered on the iconic Dam Square on Wednesday evening, defying an emergency court ban on rallies imposed days after violence between pro-Palestinian mobs and fans of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The protesters held placards that said “We want our streets back,” and chanted “Free Palestine,” according to Al Jazeera.
After unsuccessfully urging the protesters to leave, officers armed with batons and riot shields dispersed the crowd.
The police said that 265 activists were put on buses and taken to the borough of Westerpark, where demonstrations are permitted.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema asked politicians not to “add fuel to the fire,” warning that “it attracts new demonstrators and rioters, which can lead to escalations that also make the police officers unsafe.”
More than 60 people were arrested in connection to riots that followed a game between Maccabi and Dutch football club Ajax in Amsterdam on November 7.
Dutch politicians, including Prime Minister Dick Schoof, condemned the “anti-Semitic violence” coming from pro-Palestinian activists. Members of the local Palestinian community, however, accused Maccabi supporters of provoking the violence with anti-Arab chants.
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