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Dozens arrested after protesters defy mayor’s ban

Dozens arrested after protesters defy mayor’s ban

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters have been detained by police in Amsterdam after defying a ban on public protests in the Dutch capital.

Hundreds of people gathered in Dam Square on Sunday, calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza and expressing their disagreement with the ban.

The mayor temporarily banned demonstrations after Israeli soccer fans were targeted in so-called “hit-and-run” attacks on Thursday night following a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam.

Authorities say the attacks, which led to five people being hospitalized, were motivated by anti-Semitism, as fanatics were sought across the city.

Others have pointed to images that appear to show some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans chanting anti-Arab slogans and burning a Palestinian flag before the violence occurred.

The clashes came amid a rise in anti-Semitism globally since the start of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The violence – which led to at least 62 arrests – was condemned by leaders of Europe, the United States and Israel.

The protest was exacerbated by attacks on the eve of the anniversary of Kirstallnacht, the Nazi pogroms against German Jews that took place in 1938.

Three quarters of the Jews of the Netherlands were murdered during the Holocaust in World War II.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema on Friday announced a ban on public gatherings that will last at least until the end of the weekend, deeming the city a “high security risk area.”

But Sunday’s protesters argued that they should be free to express their disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the actions of Maccabi supporters.

“This protest has nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” Alexander van Stokkum, one of the protesters, told the AFP news agency on Sunday. “It’s against the Israeli hooligans who were destroying our city.”

Others told a Reuters journalist: “We refuse to allow the charge of anti-Semitism to be used as a weapon to suppress Palestinian resistance.”

The news agency reported that more than 100 people were arrested for attending the protest. Amsterdam police confirmed there were arrests, but have not yet said how many.

Following the ban on protests, Dutch activist Frank van der Linde requested urgent permission to carry out Sunday’s demonstration.

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Van der Linde was overturned by Amsterdam’s district court, which wrote on Sunday that “the mayor has correctly determined that there is a ban on demonstrations in the city this weekend.”

Dutch national newspaper De Telegraaf reports that Van der Linde was among those arrested.