Israeli foreign minister meets Dutch justice minister, far-right leader after assaults

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By Charlotte Van Campenhout and Piroschka van de Wouw

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar met Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel and far-right leader Geert Wilders in Amsterdam on Friday afternoon to discuss the assaults on Israeli soccer supporters in the city.

“(I) emphasized that the Netherlands strongly condemns the violence and that there is no place for hatred and anti-Semitism”, van Weel said on social media platform X.

“The perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted”, he added.

Meanwhile, Wilders, who heads the largest party in the Dutch government and is known for his anti-Muslim rhetoric, said he had assured Saar of “our common interest to beat antisemitism and Jew hate and that radical Islamic values have no place in a free society”.

Earlier on Friday, Wilders expressed his “anger and shame” over the assaults in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israelis, supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv club who were in the Dutch city for a match against Ajax Amsterdam, had been attacked overnight by what its mayor called “antisemitic hit-and-run squads”. At least five people were treated in hospital but were all released later on Friday.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof also had a call with Netanyahu on Friday. Schoof had been attending a summit of European Union leaders in Budapest when the events happened but he was due to leave the summit early and return to The Netherlands.

Schoof will meet representatives of the Jewish community in Amsterdam later on Friday evening to discus the impact of the assaults, a spokesperson told Dutch press agency ANP.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Angus MacSwan)