JERUSALEM, Israel – A huge crowd of pro-Palestinian Muslims in Amsterdam attacked Israelis in the city after a soccer match. This, as President Trump declared Israel must have a decisive victory in the war that continues against the Jewish state, with attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shi'ites in Iraq.
Some are calling the Amsterdam attack a pogrom. Israeli soccer fans watching a match in the city were violently attacked and threatened by a mob of Muslim immigrants armed with knives and clubs as they left the event.
The Israeli government is sending flights to rescue Israelis, who are reported to be hiding in their hotels.
After the brutal attacks, Israeli media and social media exploded with coverage and outrage about the attacks, which are being called a pogrom, an organized massacre of an ethnic group like the Nazis carried out against the Jews in the 1930s.
Thursday's attack happened just days before the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," when rioting Germans and Austrians destroyed more than 200 synagogues and 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he views with "utmost gravity" the pre-planned antisemitic attack against Israeli citizens and requested that security be increased for the Dutch Jewish community.
He spoke with the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who posted on X, calling the attack "completely unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis."
Some media reports say there were signs of tension even before the attack. The Times of Israel reports video on social media showed Israelis chanting against Arabs and Palestinians in the city and pulling down a Palestinian flag, apparently before the violence. Also, pro-Palestinian activists claimed that Israeli fans were the first to harass and engage in violence.
Newly-appointed Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar is traveling to the Netherlands to handle the crisis. His deputy, Sharen Haskell, indicated many Israelis were hospitalized and she challenged the Netherlands and Europe to take action.
"I call on the Dutch government to arrest and prosecute all those involved," Haskell stated. "We have information leading to those radical Islamists, who went hunting for Jews. I call on Europe and the world to act more aggressively to combat antisemitism. This is your responsibility. Israeli Jews being attacked by a violent mob in the heart of Europe is something no one should stand for. If we fail to act, it will only get worse."
Also, the National Security Council issued a new warning to Israelis and Jews in the Netherlands to "Avoid movements in the street and lock yourself in hotel rooms. The externalization of Israeli and Jewish symbols must be avoided."
In the U.S., Israel is getting a boost from President-elect Donald Trump. Brian Hook, his former envoy to Iran claims Trump will do away with the Biden administration's appeasing of Iran. Instead, he said on CNN, that Trump would do what he did when previously in office.
"He would isolate them diplomatically and weaken them economically so they can't fund all the violence that's going with the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas, Hezbollah, PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad), and these proxies that run around Iraq and Syria today, all of whom destabilize Israel and our Gulf partners."
Hook also suggested Trump will once again put forth his plan for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, but he realizes this is probably the wrong time.
"The October 7th attack by Hamas has really not put anybody in much of a mood to be talking about this subject, because obviously Hamas doesn't believe in a two-state solution, nor do they want a ceasefire."
He added, "And after what Hamas did on October 7th, there are many Israelis who are focused on other things, specifically keeping them safe from this evil terrorism that they endured on October 7th."
In light of Trump's election, a top Hamas official told Newsweek the terror group wants American backing to stop the war right away. He also expects the U.S. to help Palestinians in "The establishment of their independent self-sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital."
There's no talk, though, of Hamas giving in to Israeli demands that Hamas surrender and free all the hostages.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, claims it won't accept any peace deal until Israel stops its attacks in Lebanon that are tearing the terror group apart.
Sheikh Naim Kassem declared, "We have tens of thousands of trained resistance fighters who can confront and stand firm."
Iran insists its proxy Hezbollah is actually going to with the war against Israel.
"The world and the region will see the day when the Zionist regime is clearly defeated by these fighters in the path of Allah," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
An Israeli teenager was killed in an attack in northern Israel Thursday as Israel air squads struck deep inside Lebanon.
And sirens sounded in southern Israel on Friday morning after a missile was fired from Yemen. In the north, Hezbollah fired missiles toward multiple locations, including Trump Heights, named for President Trump during his first term.
CORRECTION: This story initially misstated the name of the Dutch Prime Minister. We reported that Netanyahu spoke to Dutch PM Mark Rutte, but he has moved on to become the NATO Secretary General. Dick Schoof is now the prime minister of the Netherlands.
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