Israel attacks Netherlands over ban on Israeli football fans attending match

Israel criticised the Netherlands on Monday evening over a decision to bar fans of Israeli football club Hapoel Be’er Sheva from attending their Europa League match against AZ Alkmaar, claiming the move “rewards those who threaten and incite violence”.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement after local authorities in Alkmaar reaffirmed the ban on the Israeli team’s supporters attending the match, scheduled for 15 October, citing security concerns.

“Two years after Israelis were hunted through the streets of Amsterdam, the Dutch answer is to ban the victims, not the attackers,” the ministry said.

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It described Alkmaar’s decision as contrary to the fundamental principles and spirit of sport, claiming it “rewards those who threaten and incite violence”.

The ministry claimed that such attacks were “fuelled by anti-Israel incitement from Dutch politicians and public figures.”   

It added that barring Israeli fans from the match, alongside the boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest, was “another stain on the Netherlands”. It also claimed that “the country increasingly becomes one of the world’s leading hotspots for antisemitism.”        

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