Five men convicted over Amsterdam violence against Israelis

AMSTERDAM

A Dutch court on Tuesday convicted five men for their part in last month's violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam that shocked the world and sparked accusations of anti-Semitism.

The Amsterdam district court found them guilty of a range of crimes from kicking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the street to inciting violence in chat groups.

The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison, for a man identified as Sefa O. for public violence against several people.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came under "hit-and-run" style attacks in the early hours of November 8 after their European League match against Amsterdam giants Ajax.

Images of the violence, which left five fans briefly hospitalized, went around the world and sparked a furious reaction in Israel including accusations of a "pogrom.”

The most serious case under consideration was O., who prosecutors said played a "leading role" in the violence.

The court saw images of a man identified as O. kicking a person on the ground, chasing targets, and punching people in the head and the body.

The prosecutor said the beatings had "little to do with football" but added that "in this case, there was no evidence of... a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment.”

"The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by anti-Semitism," said the prosecutor.

The attacks followed two days of skirmishes that also saw Maccabi fans chant anti-Arab songs, vandalize a taxi and burn a Palestinian flag.

Police said they were investigating at least 45 people over the violence, including that carried out by fans of the Israeli club.