Some 10,000 people marched through Amsterdam on Saturday to support the people of Palestine and remember 76 years since the Nakba, when thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homes through the formation of Israel in 1948. 

The march, which passed off peacefully, ended on the Museumplein where a group of men, dressed in black, attacked the few demonstrators who had remained in the area, the Parool reported on Saturday evening.

“There were two loud bangs and then panic on one side of the area and people began screaming and running over the grass,” the paper said. “They said that men in black clothes began hitting them with beer bottles and setting off fireworks. It was chaotic.”

The police are thought to have arrested six of the attackers, two of whom were injured when demonstrators fought back. As yet, it is not clear who they were or why they attacked the group, the NRC said.

The march was organised by several organisations, including student groups and The Palestinian Community in the Netherlands. Amsterdam University students, who have been demonstrating in support of the people of Gaza since Monday, were also represented. 

Masked men are also reported to have attacked students during one of their demonstrations earlier this week.

Meanwhile the UvA has put the damage caused by protestors to its property in four days of demonstrations this week at some €1.5 million. The figure does not include damage to city council or private property.

The students used university furniture and bikes to create blockades and covered walls and windows in graffiti during their protests.