The spillover in the West of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the October 7th 2023 attack by Hamas against Israel has been the subject of much discussion by terrorism and extremism experts[1].
The military response by Israel and its escalation has been another factor that added to the conflict escaping the area of the Middle East. The polarization- to which also social media have been playing their own role- has paved the way to the violence erupted in Amsterdam some days ago in the framework of the the European League tournament. Israeli fans of the Maccabi football team (playing against the Ajax team) were chased, brutally attacked, beaten, and injured in what have been described as ‘hit and run’ attacks. Dutch politicians as well as international leaders and representatives of the EU have expressed their shock about these attacks, described the attacks as antisemitic and condemned them.
This was not a usual case of hooliganism and deserves much attention from a security and counterterrorism perspective. As the investigation continues and new evidence come to light, it is important to look at the following points, at least from a European security perspective:
I. The Israeli fans attacked were not soldiers who conducted military service in Gaza or contributed in any way to the suffering of Palestinians. They were tourists who traveled to a European country to participate as viewers in an athletic event. Their victimization cannot and should not be perceived or accepted as a form of resistance or even as an expression of criticism toward the (military or other) policies of Israel in the framework of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What has happened in Amsterdam is a clear example of the ‘no one is innocent’ concept encountered in terrorism and extremism. According to this concept, everyone is considered a legitimate target and every place is considered a battlefield. For the sake of ‘resistance’, any crime can occur, any violence can be committed, any person can be victimized, anywhere, without discrimination. From a historical point of view, this is the standard way Palestinian terrorist groups have tried to attract international attention to the Palestinian struggle, transferring the conflict with Israel abroad, to Europe. Attacks against Israelis at airports, hijacking European air carriers and cruise ships, even attacks and hostage taking during the Olympic Games are a 70s and 80s precursor of what we saw in Amsterdam. The current export of this type of ‘resistance’ to Europe has the following dangerous characteristics:
a. The actual narrative of ‘resistance’ justifies violence against civilians and makes the concept of terrorism once more subjective. Despite the current universally concrete legislative approach against terrorism, when it comes to public opinion there is a reemergence of the old saying ‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’ (which seemed to have faded away during the terrorist campaign of the Islamist network after 9/11 and especially after the attacks in Europe).). As long as the Palestinians are weaker from a military point of view and Israel has launched its retaliation war against Gaza, many perceive this military inferiority as “carte blanche” for Palestinians to use any means to attack back. So terrorism is accepted as a form of resistance and it is not even called terrorism.
b. There is a fusion of many lines (far right, far left, Islamist, antisemitic, Arab nationalist) present in the rhetoric spread online and especially in social media, radicalising mainly young people who come from many different political and/or religious backgrounds. The common ground of the rhetoric and that of the mindset it aims to create is the absolute delegitimization of the State of Israel and the legitimisation of targeting Israelis wherever and whenever, without distinction. This is a heterogeneous movement, where despite fundamental differences, all seem to meet denouncing the ‘evil entity’: those who identify themselves as Palestinians, Arabs in general, those who believe in conspiracy theories against Jews, those who reject NATO and US foreign policy as well as Western policy in general in the Middle East viewing them as colonialist, those who see the West as corrupt and decadent, supporters of Islamic dominance in the Middle East (and the world).). Israel for them is more than a country, it embodies everything they disagree with in the West and want to destroy. And for this reason, especially since Europe is the heart of Western civilisation and its foreign, colonialist policy is seen as responsible for the creation of the State of Israel, European soil is also a legitimate battlefield. This responsibility of the West has been present all the way even in the rhetoric of European terrorist groups supporting the Palestinian struggle, even during the 1970s, considering European countries as responsible for the Palestinian suffering (e.g. the RZ that collaborated with PFLP-EO during the 1976 Air France hijacking).).
II. The Amsterdam events are a failure of the Dutch authorities to provide security for an athletic event, when any risk assessment would have shown the increased threat of violence and targeting Israeli fans. The Dutch Police has been reported to say that they increased their presence in the city center on Wednesday night, citing ‘tensions’ in several areas, one day before the game, and prevented a confrontation between a group of taxi drivers and a group of visitors who came from the adjacent casino noting another incident in which a Palestinian flag was torn down in the center of Amsterdam by unknown perpetrators (Yosef, al 2024).). News reports provocative activities by certain Israeli fans, too (Tankersley, 2024). Given the atmosphere created and the antisemitic incidents in the country that have surged since Israel’s war against Gaza following the terror attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, with many Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hate mail (Deutsch & Meijer, 2024), a review of the police and the police measures taken is needed. It needs to be understood what went wrong. Were attacks and clashes inevitable? Did the Police react in and on time? What lessons can be learned for the future (and law enforcement in other countries)? Here there is also a serious parameter that unfortunately needs additionally to be examined: Last month news circulated about officers in the Dutch police force, reportedly refusing to protect potential Jewish targets amid “moral dilemmas”, not wanting to be deployed at the Dutch National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam and refusing food and drinks from the venue (Deconinck, 2024). Although the professionalism of Dutch law enforcement is known, such claims raise alarm about possible polarization inside the police. Could it have affected in any way the policing and the response of the Dutch Pollie during these events? Could it generally affect the security of Jews or Israeli tourists? Police officers are human beings, allowed and expected to have their ideas, political ideology, religious sentiments. Exactly because they are human beings- even if they are trained to follow rules of professionalism- they can also be radicalised, endorse extreme ideas and act based on them during their service. It is not after all unheard for police officers in certain countries to support far right political parties on occasion and for this reason to show bias e.g. behaving harshly towards immigrants (or others that far right parties demonise) and on the other hand exhibiting tolerance to far rightists arrested for abusing immigrants etc. The question is if during critical circumstances, those “moral dilemmas” created by ideological or religious affiliations could impact the way police officers actively perform their duties on the ground. It is always all about the human factor on the ground (and not just the policy designed on top level). How the anti-Israeli narrative may have infiltrated law enforcement in the Netherlands, and the police and security agencies in other European countries must be thoroughly investigated, with the scope to discover if there is an effect on their efficacy. Are Jews and Israelis really protected, adequately and equally to other people, or can they fall victims of discrimination, bias that could make easier their victimisation?
III. The riots that formed against and beat up Israeli football fans are a textbook case of extremism and even hate crime. The victims were attacked due to the alternative characteristic of their national identity (and in the case of Israelis, it can be argued that their Jewishness has always been part of the bias against them). The big question is: was this also terrorism? The mobs that took action in Amsterdam had planned their activity. Israelis were chosen as victims with the larger message spreading: ‘You Israelis are nowhere safe.’ Israel’s national security council has already warned its citizens against traveling to Europe for cultural and sporting events following what happened (Boztas, 2024). Intimidation was clearly part of planning and executing the violence Israeli fans endured. The actual aim of the violence here is important here and not just the operational form. Terrorism is not just about suicide attacks and explosives. A terrorist attack can take many forms, and it can very well take place as of mobs attacking people who are nationals of a certain country, to create fear and to press their government change its policy. Exactly this is the way e.g. hijackings worked in the past, with Israeli passengers living the risk of victimisation, so that Israel was pushed to negotiate and give in to Palestinian demands (usually releasing prisoners). Now the aim is for Israel to stop its attack against Gaza and Lebanon, which have been launched against Hamas and Hezbollah, as a response to the 7 October massacre.
It is one year after the attack on October 7th, and since 2024 is towards its end, the risk assessment for future security threats cannot but take into account what happened in Amsterdam. The radicalisation scene is strong and what is mostly worrying is that in this case, accepting and even embracing violence is seen as an expression of solidarity to the suffering Palestinians and of condemnation of Israeli policies. As long as this narrative is not deconstructed and society does not see events like the ones in Amsterdam for what they are, that is extremist and terrorist violence, there will be a major obstacle in ensuring security. While a cease fire and de-escalation is needed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (with the ultimate scope of a viable two-state solution that will serve the needs of both sides), such a condition should not be considered as a prerequisite for civilians to stay safe from terror. A citizen of any country, even if that country is behaving in ways that could be seen by some as morally or legally questionable, deserves to be secure and safe from attacks. Because the basis of opposing terrorism is rejecting the victimisation of innocents.
Reference List:
Boztas, S. (2024) First charges over violence linked to football match in Amsterdam, The Guardian, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/10/amsterdam-police-charge-four-after-attack-on-israeli-football-fans
Deconinck, C., ‘Some Dutch police refuse to protect Jewish targets,’ officers claim, Brussels Signal, https://brusselssignal.eu/2024/10/some-dutch-police-refuse-to-protect-jewish-targets-officers-claim/
Deutsch, A. & Meijer B.H. (2024) Amsterdam bans protests after ‘antisemitic squads’ attack Israeli soccer fans, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/israels-pm-aware-very-violent-incident-against-israelis-amsterdam-his-office-2024-11-08/
Tankersley, J., (2024) Chaos, Provocations and Violence: How Attacks on Israeli Soccer Fans Unfolded, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/10/world/europe/israeli-soccer-fans-amsterdam-attack.html
Yosef, E., Szekeres,E., Kent, L. & Tanno S. (2024) Amsterdam bans protests for three days after violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/07/europe/israel-soccer-fans-attacked-amsterdam-intl-hnk/index.html
[1] Indicatively see article on ITSTIME website: The spillover of Israel-Hamas conflict and radicalisation in Western societies, by Maria Chr. Alvanou, https://www.itstime.it/w/the-spillover-of-israel-hamas-conflict-and-radicalisation-in-western-societies-by-maria-chr-alvanou/