Video from Amsterdam showing a man breaking the windows of a Jewish restaurant and forcing his way inside has been aired by Dutch media.
Footage aired by AT5 shows the man, who has his head wrapped in a shemagh or similar Middle Eastern style headdress and carries a Palestinian flag, smashing the windows of a Jewish restaurant with a club. He then kicks his way through the front door of the restaurant to pull down an Israeli flag.
The attack in the district of Amstelveenseweg, which ended with the man being tackled to the ground by law enforcement officers on the street, was likely motivated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, which has prompted a declaration of three “days of rage”.
Witnesses told AT5 the attacker shouted “Palestine” and “Allahu Akbar” — but the defiant owner insisted he would still open tonight, provided his windows could be boarded up in time for service.
“If we manage to close the windows today, even if it is provisional, we will serve our guests tonight. We just continue as otherwise,” he declared.
The son of the restaurant owner said they had been attacked before, but never with such violence.
“There is more frequent spitting. But never something like this. Everyone is terrified about it and that it happened one hour before opening time,” he said.
The Organization of Jewish Communities in The Netherlands condemned the attack as “an act of revenge, meant to instil fear, and is no less than an act of terror.”