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An explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam overnight on Saturday damaged its exterior wall. Police and firefighters arrived at the scene quickly and there were no injuries reported.
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema called the incident a “cowardly act of aggression against the Jewish community.”
“I understand the fear and anger of Amsterdam’s Jewish community,” Halsema said, adding that “they increasingly face antisemitism and that is unacceptable.”
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten called the attack “horrible” and said “there should be no place for antisemitism in the Netherlands.”
The police said they have CCTV footage of a person placing the explosive device, adding that an investigation has been opened.
Incident follows other attacks on Jewish institutions
Security at synagogues and Jewish institutions in the Netherlands had already been heightened after an overnight arson attack at a synagogue in the centre of Rotterdam on Friday.
Police arrested four young men on Friday on suspicion of setting off an explosion outside a synagogue in Rotterdam that caused a brief fire and damage to the building.
After the blast, police monitored other synagogues as a precaution and stopped a vehicle near another building driven by someone matching the description of one of the suspects.
“It is not yet clear whether the suspects planned to detonate an explosive or set fire to another synagogue as well,” police said in a statement.
Two men were aged 19, one 18 and the fourth was 17 years old, said police, without specifying any motive.
Authorities said they were launching a “large-scale investigation into this serious incident” and appealed for witnesses to come forward.
An unverified video showing an explosion near a building resembling the targeted synagogue circulated on social media on Friday, which police said they were examining as part of their probe.
On Monday, an explosion shook a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège before dawn, causing some damage but no injuries.
It was strongly condemned by Belgian politicians and European Union officials. Belgian authorities said they were analysing a potentially jihadist video claiming responsibility.
On Thursday, an unidentified assailant rammed his car into a synagogue on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, sparking a blaze. Security guards opened fire on the attacker, who was killed in the assault.
Additional sources • AFP
