Nearly a week after an anti-Jewish pogrom in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, pro-Hamas protesters are rioting in the French capital, Paris, ahead of Thursday’s soccer match between France and Israel.
Demonstrators on Wednesday night went on a rampage in Paris over a pro-Israel event in the city. “Protests erupted in Paris on Wednesday against a gala … in support of Israel,” The Times of Israel reported. “The demonstrations came on the eve of a high-stakes soccer match at France’s national stadium against the Israeli national team.”
“Some demonstrators broke windows at a McDonald’s along the route.” the news outlet added.
The French authorities have undertaken sweeping measures to prevent a repeat of the anti-Jewish violence that unfolded last week in Amsterdam when hundreds of Israeli fans were ambushed by migrant gangs after a soccer match between an Israeli and a local Dutch team.
According to the French sports daily L’Equipe, the soccer stadium has been turned into “a bunker,” with “4,000 police to accompany 15,000 spectators.”
“The chief of police in France said that 4,000 police officers would be stationed in the capital and around the Stade de France stadium in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis,” Germany’s DW TV reported. “Another 1,500 officers are to be deployed on public transport. An elite police unit will guard the Israeli team and another 1,600 civilian security personnel will be on duty at the match.”
“The elite tactical unit of the French National Police, known as RAID, will be in the stadium and some police will be in plain clothes mingling with fans. There will also be heavy surveillance within Paris, including at Jewish places of worship and schools,” The Associated Press reported.
The pro-Hamas rioters in Paris apparently went on a hunt for Jews and Israelis despite a handful of Israeli soccer fans expected to attend the match following a travel advisory by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, urging the country’s nationals to stay away from the sporting event. “The stadium, which can hold 80,000, will be only a quarter full. Following advice by the Israeli government, no more than 100 or so Israeli fans are expected to travel to Paris, though other Israel supporters may go to the game,” the BBC reported.
A video circulating on X reportedly shows Hamas sympathizers running over a McDonalds outlet in Paris in search of Israelis. Another clip on X shows pro-Palestinian rioters vandalizing shops and businesses with purported links to Israel.
France is not an exception, violent antisemitism is rearing its ugly head all across western Europe. “These are dangerous times for Jews in Europe,” The British newspaper Spectator noted Thursday.
“Last week dozens of Israeli football fans were attacked in a series of co-ordinated ambushes in Amsterdam by what the Dutch authorities described as ‘antisemitic hit-and-run squads’. Many of the assailants referenced the conflict in Palestine as they kicked and punched their victims,” the daily recalled.
Things are even worse in neighboring Belgium, which has a large Muslim population. The country decided to relocate its soccer match with Israel to Hungary, a safer location given Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s sensible immigration policies.
“The Belgian government took a different course of action when its national men’s team faced Israel in September. It decided to move the match to Hungary, citing security concerns,” France24 TV reported Thursday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday announced the expansion of its ground operation in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon, eliminating terrorist commanders and fighters in ongoing strikes.
“The military said Wednesday that it has further expanded its ground operation in southern Lebanon, as it continued to carry out airstrikes in Beirut while Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at northern Israel,” The Times of Israel reported.
Three Hezbollah terrorist field commanders were eliminated in recent airstrikes. Israeli fighter jets “struck and eliminated a battalion operations commander and a battalion anti-tank missiles commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces in the coastal region on Tuesday. Additionally, a company commander in the Radwan Forces was also eliminated,” the military disclosed Thursday. “Over the past week, the IDF eliminated over 200 Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon from the air and ground,” the IDF added.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out strikes on the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut. “A short while ago, the IAF conducted a series of intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, command centers, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites in the Dahieh area, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut, where Hezbollah systematically embedded its terrorist infrastructure amidst the Lebanese civilian population,” the IDF said in a press release Thursday. “Over the past two days, approximately 30 terror targets were struck in the Dahieh area in Beirut. These strikes were a part of the IDF’s ongoing efforts to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities, and the IDF is continuing to strike Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites in the Dahieh area.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY