More than 50 arrested after demonstration on Dam Square, emergency order extended

More than fifty people were arrested at an anti-Palestinian demonstration on Dam Square this afternoon. Most of the people arrested were for breaking the emergency order or disturbing public order, the police report.

340 people were relocated in Amsterdam on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service. The demonstration was banned by the judge because of the emergency order that has been in place in the town since Friday.

The city of Amsterdam announced at the end of the evening that they would extend the measure until Thursday morning. Initially, the emergency order would last until Monday morning.

The measure was imposed after the violence in Amsterdam before and after the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv match. Supporters of an Israeli football club were attacked and abused during the night from Thursday to Friday. A 26-year-old resident of Amsterdam was arrested for this on Friday; 62 people were also arrested before and during the match.

The emergency order allows police to carry out preventive searches and extra police and armed police are on hand. Demonstrations are also banned in the capital.

Images of demonstrators on Dam Square:

Despite the ban, around hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators came to Dam Square this afternoon, where many police officers and riot police were present. The police asked demonstrators to leave. After an hour the police decided to end the demonstration and charges were laid.

Hundreds of demonstrators were transported on city buses to an amusement park in Amsterdam West, after which they were allowed to go home. Of the more than fifty people who have been arrested, a large number are still in custody. It is not known when they will be released, the police report said.

Activist Frank van der Linde was also arrested on Dam Square. Van der Linde compressed one beforehand summary proceedings to lift the display ban, but the court ruled against it. He then said he would go to Dam Square anyway.