Burning object thrown at Israeli embassy in Hague, one arrested

A burning object was thrown at the Israeli embassy in the Hague on Thursday morning, Dutch police said, adding that they have arrested a suspect.

Neither the police nor embassy officials gave any further description of the object. The police said in a post on social media platform X that no one was wounded during the incident, which is being investigated, without giving more details.

There has been a rapid rise in the number of hate crimes reported across Europe since the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza began last October.

'Dangerous consequences increasing hatred and incitement'

A statement posted on the official X account of the Israeli embassy in The Hague confirmed the incident and said it was unacceptable that such an attack could be carried out in the Netherlands.

"This proves the dangerous consequences of the worrying trend of increasing hatred and incitement," the post added.

The Netherlands had added extra security at the Israeli embassy in The Hague following threats.

In January, an object believed to be an explosive device was found outside the Israeli embassy in Sweden. The matter is being investigated as a suspected terrorist crime.

In response to the incident, Rabbi Shmuel Katz of the Amsterdam Jewish Community claimed that "this is not an unusual event with the number of antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands rising since October 7.

The Jews of the Netherlands, including multiple Holocaust survivors, feel very threatened and don't walk around wearing Jewish symbols on the streets.

The Holocaust Museum opened in Amsterdam a week and a half ago, and President Yitzhak Herzog was in attendance. There were violent pro-Palestinian demonstrations due to his appearance. Jewish students are afraid to go to university.

There is a feeling that the Dutch political parties are afraid to act against these actions, for fear that things will escalate."