Dutch cops arrest suspect in attempted break-in, arson at Israeli embassy

UN envoy decries ‘abhorrent attempt to set fire to the Israeli embassy’ a month after it was defaced amid spate of anti-Israel activities since Oct. 7

Dutch authorities arrested an assailant who tried to break into the Israeli Embassy in the Netherlands and set it ablaze, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, another in a wave of attacks on Israeli targets in the country throughout the war in Gaza.

No embassy staffers were hurt, the embassy said in a Dutch-language post on X. The arrest took place at around 7 p.m. Friday evening, according to a police spokesperson cited in local media.

The embassy said it was “deeply concerned about the attempted break-in” and thanked the police for the “swift arrest, adding that it “expects the Dutch government to take appropriate measures and to condemn the attack.”

Israeli envoy to the UN Danny Danon decried “the abhorrent attempt to set fire to the Israeli embassy.”

“Hatred and violence will not deter us — the Israeli flag will continue to fly proudly around the world,” he added.

The ambassador to the Netherlands, Zvi Vapni, wrote: “Another attempt was made tonight to break into our embassy’s building. This is another vile act, but we are not intimidated. We expect this act of hate and violence to be clearly and forcefully condemned.”

Three people were arrested on August 12 after the front door of the embassy was smashed and the building was splashed with red paint. Another person was arrested in March last year for allegedly tossing a “burning object” at the building.

A photo of the Israeli Embassy in The Hague after it was vandalized with red paint and its front door smashed, on August 12, 2025. (Israeli embassy in the Netherlands)

An Israeli family was also attacked at a holiday park in the Netherlands in August, and Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam were targeted in a post-game riot in November.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands’ 35,000-strong Jewish community has seen an all-time high in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the Gaza war.

A record 421 antisemitic incidents were documented in the Netherlands in 2024, an 11 percent rise over the previous all-time high, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), a Dutch Jewish watchdog group, said in April.

Zev Stub contributed to this report.