Object on fire thrown at Israeli embassy in The Hague; One arrested
Police in The Hague said one person was quickly apprehended after someone threw a “burning object” at the Israeli embassy. The incident happened at about 10:50 a.m. on Thursday, and the arrest was announced about 90 minutes later.
Police were investigating whether the item was a Molotov cocktail, saying the item appeared to strike the building. “We are investigating, and there is a large area cordoned off around the embassy,” police said.
There were no injuries. It was not immediately clear if police were searching for other suspects.
“It is unacceptable that such an attack can take place in the Netherlands,” the embassy wrote in a statement. “This proves the dangerous consequences of the worrying trend of increasing hatred and incitement. This hatred cannot be tolerated.”
“Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but this is another step in a sliding scale of hatred and violence against the Jewish state,” said Jewish and Israeli issues group CIDI. The organization’s leader, Naomi Mestrum, said it was excessive to show opposition to Israeli policy by using violently lashing out at its diplomatic missions.
"I think it is a completely scary development that violence here in the Netherlands is taking such forms that an embassy is being attacked,” she told ANP. "These are just people doing their job, they are not primarily responsible for what happens."
The embassy called on Dutch police and investigative services to step up security efforts. “We trust that the authorities will take all possible measures to prevent such attacks.”
Last month, the municipality of The Hague implemented extra security around the embassy on Johan de Wittlaan due to a threat. It was escalated to an emergency decree a few days later, meaning that the police could stop and search people in the area, among other things. The expanded security measures continued for several weeks but were relaxed earlier this month.
Today’s incident is likely linked to the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli attacks have killed at least 31,819 Palestinians and injured another 73,934 since October 7, Al Jazeera reported based on figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The war started after terrorist attacks by Hamas killed some 1,139 people in Israel.
The war has also caused increased tensions in the Netherlands. Earlier this week, an activist group smeared red paint on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on Rijnsstraat in The Hague in a pro-Palestine protest. On Sunday, protesters lined up thousands of children’s shoes on the Vredenburgplein in Utrecht to draw attention to the thousands of Palestinian children killed in Gaza since the war started.
