Despite the violence directed at Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, France won't change its plans to host a Nations' League game against Israel next week, the interior minister said on Friday.
Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are guarded by police after violence targeting Israeli football fans broke out in Amsterdam overnight, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024. Reuters/Ami Shooman/Israel Hayom
Despite the violence directed at Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, France won't change its plans to host a Nations' League game against Israel next week, the interior minister said on Friday.
"France is not backing down because that would amount to giving up in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism", Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a post on X.
Tensions over Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza are running high in France, home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, where authorities this year reported a surge in antisemitic incidents.
Israel said it would send two planes to bring back fans of an Israeli soccer team from the Netherlands on Friday after overnight attacks in the streets that officials described as antisemitic.
Videos circulating on social media showed riot police intervening in street clashes, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs.
Paris police are planning to deploy over 2,000 officers around the Stade de France to secure the game on Thursday, Nov. 14, BFM TV reported. Authorities are also expected to cordon off an unusually large security perimeter.
The interior ministry and Paris police department did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for details of the exact plans.
Retailleau was meeting with the heads of the French soccer federation and top club PSG on Friday morning following the unfurling of a giant "Free Palestine" banner at a Champions League match this week.
Reporting by Tassilo Hummel
Israel has proposed a 45-day truce in Gaza to allow hostage releases and potentially begin indirect talks to end the war, while Hamas, which has already rejected one of its conditions - that it lay down its arms, says it is studying the plan.
The U.S. military is set to consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday, in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half.
Jordan has arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood who were trained and financed in Lebanon and had plotted attacks on targets inside the kingdom involving rockets and drones, authorities said on Tuesday.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.