Police violence probed after Amsterdam pro-Palestinian protest

AMSTERDAM

Dutch police said that they have opened an inquiry into alleged police brutality during and after a banned pro-Palestinian protest in Amsterdam in which 281 demonstrators were detained.

Social media footage showed riot police shouting at protesters and hitting them with batons after they were released from a bus on the outskirts of the Dutch capital.

Several hundred demonstrators, dressed in Palestinian scarfs and chanting slogans, gathered on the city's famous Dam Square despite a ban following last week's attacks on Israeli football fans.

"Videos are circulating on social media showing members of the Mobile Unit [riot police] acting against protesters who have just been removed from a bus," the police said in a statement.

"These protesters were transported to this location after they were previously arrested on Dam Square for violating the emergency ordinance," police said.

"The exact reason for the Mobile Unit's action in this specific video fragment is being investigated," police said, without specifying which footage they were referring to. 

Hard-right Dutch political leader Geert Wilders blamed Moroccans for attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week, recommending the deportation of people convicted of involvement if they have dual nationality. 

The demonstration took place nearly a week following the violent incidents involving Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters after a football match against the local club Ajax.

Israel faced France in a Nations League match in Paris surrounded by a huge security operation.

The Paris police chief has described the match at the Stade de France as "high risk" and Israel has urged fans to avoid the fixture, which authorities fear could become another flashpoint following the violence in the Netherlands.