Extra security at all Jewish schools in Amsterdam after explosive attack
All Jewish primary and secondary schools in Amsterdam have been under increased security since Saturday, the Amsterdam office of mayor and aldermen reported to the city council. The city is providing extra protection at the schools before classes start, during operating hours, and when the children go home, NOS reports.
Amsterdam took these measures following an attack on a Jewish primary school during the early hours of Saturday morning. The measures will apply “for as long as necessary,” the letter states.
The municipal executive did not elaborate on what the security measures entail, only speaking of “static physical surveillance” in cooperation with the police and the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military.
Other Jewish institutions in the city are also under extra surveillance. The authorities are monitoring security camera footage at “all relevant Jewish locations” 24 hours a day.
The city informed a representative of the Jewish community about the additional measures last weekend. On Monday, Mayor Femke Halsma and the police provided information at a well-attended parents’ evening at one of the schools.
The perpetrators of the attack on the Jewish primary school are still at large. The police released security camera images of the suspects earlier in the week, hoping that someone would recognize them.
A day before the attack on the Jewish school in Amsterdam, there was a similar attack at a synagogue in Rotterdam. The police announced on Thursday that they arrested a fifth suspect, a 19-year-old man from Tilburg, for this attack. The other four suspects, two 19-year-old men, an 18-year-old man, and a 17-year-old boy, are also from Tilburg.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) suspects these teenagers of causing an explosion, arson, and attempted arson, all with a terrorist intent. According to the OM, they intended to “instill serious fear” in the Jewish community.
The attacks on the synagogue and school were claimed by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyyah. The group also claimed an attack on the Atrium office building in Amsterdam Zuidas on Monday. The building houses the American bank, Bank of New York.
The Amsterdam mayor and aldermen said that they put extra security in place in the city after the attack in Rotterdam. “However, these additional measures were unfortunately unable to prevent an explosive from going off at the Jewish school on Friday night,” they wrote.
On Thursday, a police officer of Iranian descent was gunned down in Schoonhoven. He was reportedly ambushed at his home and sustained severe injuries.
Several politicians with Iranian backgrounds wrote on social media that they believe the Iranian regime was behind the attack on the police officer. There are also strong suspicions that the attacks in Rotterdam and Amsterdam are linked to the war in Iran, but the police are still investigating this.
