Media Figures In Qatar: 'Bless The Hands' That Carried Out The Amsterdam Attack And Punished The Zionists

While the attacks of November 7-8, 2024 in Amsterdam – in which Muslim rioters ambushed and beat up Israeli football fans who had come to the city to see their team play – were met with shock across Europe and in many countries worldwide, journalists and media personalities in Qatar welcomed the attacks, describing them as a "just punishment" for the "Zionists" and expressing joy over the incident.

The following is a sampling of these responses:

Praise For The Amsterdam Attackers: Bless Those Who Carried Out The Riots

As'ad Taha, a columnist for the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, welcomed the attack: "It is very important to identify the moments at which it is appropriate to say 'bless [your] hands.' #Amsterdam."[1]

Al-Jazeera presenter Ayman 'Azzam applauded Morocco and the Moroccans for the participation of Moroccan immigrants in the attack on the Israeli football fans: "[We convey] our love and admiration for Morocco and the Moroccans in their beautiful country. You carry the love of Al-Aqsa in the very depths of your souls. #Blessed_Friday #Moroccans_Against_Normalization."[2] 

The Attack Was A "Punishment" For The "Zionists"

Another Al-Jazeera presenter, Mustafa Ashour, wrote: "It's name is Palestine. The free peoples have resolved to punish the Zionists. #Amsterdam."[3]

Abdallah bin Hamad Aal Athbah, the former editor of the Al-Arab daily, wrote that the "Zionist entity" is the cause of the problems in both the Arab world and Europe: "In response to what happened in Amsterdam, [let me note that] the Zionist Jews insist on moving the war to Europe, because the [Zionist] entity is destroying the region, [thereby] pushing the Arab migrants to Europe, and then it invents problems with the Arabs there. The truth is that the Zionist entity is the root cause of the problems in the Arab region and in Europe."[4]

Egyptian Footballer And Presenter On Qatari Channel: This Was A Message "That The Murderers Of Women And Children Are Ostracized By The Entire Free World"  

Mohamed Aboutrika, an Egyptian footballer and a commentator on the Qatari BeIN SPORTS channel, wrote on his Facebook and X accounts that Israel is ostracized and should continue to be excluded, including from sports competitions. It should be noted that Facebook closed his account due to this post, but it still appears on his X account.

He wrote: "[Unlike] the decision to exclude Russian clubs and the Russian national team from competitions [following this country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022], the decision to ban Zionist clubs and the Zionist national team [from UEFA Nations League games] is long in coming. This is hypocrisy at its finest. What happened in Amsterdam is a clear message that the murderers of women and children are ostracized by the entire free world."[5]

Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, a lecturer at Qatar University and a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which is supported and funded by Qatar, alluded to a hadith that predicts the extermination of the Jews by the Muslims before the Day of Judgement: "The grassroots attack on the Israelis in the Netherlands is an important indication of the decline of the Zionists' status and influence in the West since the Al-Aqsa Flood [attack]. This is a phenomenon that will grow from day to day, until everyone takes part in it, both trees and people, except for the American gharqad trees,[6] Israel's slaves among the American Protestants who are beyond hope."[7]