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Wilders: There were no arrests during the Amsterdam pogrom

Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders said on no one had been arrested.

“I'm speechless. Amsterdam police have just confirmed that NO ONE was arrested during the Islamic Jew hunt in Amsterdam on Thursday evening.”

“All arrests took place before and during the football game and NOT during the pogrom,” he wrote.

Dutch police arrested 62 people on Thursday evening, but only 10 remain in police custody, according to senior prosecutor Rene de Beukelaer, ANP reported.

According to a report by the Jewish News Syndicate, Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla brought in around 800 officers from across the country to prepare for the event, which is “extraordinarily large” by Amsterdam standards.

In a press conference in Dutch on Friday, he said: “It is very difficult for the police to act against these lightning moments that are widespread throughout the city. And that despite the large police presence until late at night.”

In this screenshot from a social media video, a person is arrested by police as Israeli supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv demonstrate in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 7, 2024. (Source: Michel Van Bergen/via REUTERS)

Authorities are investigating whether the attack was organized

De Beukelaer explained that the Dutch authorities were trying to bring the ten suspects to court quickly through an expedited hearing. They are in prison for public violence against individuals and groups.

The senior prosecutor also said that the police initiated the investigation based on who was seen in the surveillance camera footage on Thursday evening. He added that police are also investigating “whether there are links between these suspects and how they came to commit these acts of violence” and whether the attacks were previously organized.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof vowed to make maximum efforts to find every suspect and said the pogrom was a sign of growing anti-Semitism in the Netherlands.

He met with newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Saturday and told him that the Dutch government is “doing everything to ensure that the Jewish community in this country feels safe,” according to a post on his X /Twitter account.