Fans of Hapoel Jerusalem
Fans of Hapoel JerusalemUdi Chitayat

Fans of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team were assaulted on Tuesday evening during the game between Hapoel and Valencia in Spain.

About 30 fans, who came to support their team in their game in Spain, were beaten by local Spanish police officers who used clubs.

Police said that the Jerusalem fans did not respond to the officers’ demands that they sit only in two rows at the back of the hall, which was not enough for all 30 fans, and claimed that the fans broke chairs and even raised a hateful sign against the officers.

As soon as the lights in the hall were dimmed, the local police burst into the stands where the Jerusalem fans were sitting, and began to violently remove them from the hall. Anyone who tried to take pictures of the incident was attacked as well.

Later, the fans were split into two groups - those who had ID cards and those who did not. Those who were without an ID card were physically searched by the officers.

After ten minutes, during which the Jerusalem fans were surrounded by officers, they were released and were escorted to the nearest train station.

Journalists who witnessed the incident reported that there were no disturbances by the fans, and that the only reason they were attacked was because they were Israelis.