Israeli football players are attacked with flying kicks by pro-Palestinians who invade the pitch during friendly match in Austria

Protestors reportedly of Turkish origin attacked Maccabi players

Some Maccabi players fought back as did coach Aleksander Stanojevic

Maccabi denounced violence: ' We believe in co-existence and tolerance'

Lille were winning 2-0 when pre-season game was stopped after 86 minutes

Comes amid growing fears about anti-Semitism in Europe

Israeli football team Maccabi Haifa's game against French side Lille had to be stopped after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the pitch.

Supporters of reportedly Turkish origin ran onto the field in the Austrian stadium where the game was played and headed for the Maccabi players, sparking ugly scenes.

One of the players is seen to trip a fan before punches were thrown. The Maccabi players - some of whom retaliated - managed to leave the field unhurt.

Maccabi Haifa denounced the attack, saying the club 'believes in co-existence, tolerance and is against violence'

VIDEO Scroll down to watch protestors storm the pitch and attack Maccabi players

Attack: Protestors storm the pitch and appear to attack the Maccabi Haifa players

Ugly scenes: Protestors attack the Maccabi Haifa players forcing the game to be called off early

Hitting back: Several Maccabi Haifa players were spotted fighting back after being attacked

Tension: Pro-Palestinian supporters attacked the Maccabi Haifa players

The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, said this week: ‘They pursue the Jews in the streets of Berlin… as if we were in 1938.’

During the football match fight yesterday, banners calling for the liberation of Palestine were displayed by certain sections of the crowd.



Lille said on its Twitter feed that the referee called a halt to the game after a group of youths, waving Palestinian flags and placards, ran onto the pitch with just three minutes of the game left.

After a series of brief scuffles, the protestors were led away by security officers with the French side 2-0 ahead at the time.

Making their point: Supporters were seen with banners demanding the freedom of Palestine

Apprehended: A security guard manages to pull down one of the protestors

Allon Sinai, a sports journalist for the Jerusalem Post, wrote: 'Punches and profanities were exchanged between the handful of youngsters, who waved Palestinian and Turkish flags throughout the match, and the Haifa players, who were mainly stunned by the scenes.

'The security stewards on hand were slow to react, but ultimately the situation calmed down, with several of the protesters being escorted out of the stadium and the Haifa players leaving the pitch unscathed.'



Israel is currently engaged in hostilities with Hamas, a militant group that runs the Gaza Strip.

Last month UEFA announced that Israeli clubs could not host European matches due to the 'unrest' in Israel.

Germany condemns rise in anti-Semitism as three men jailed in France for rioting after pro-Palestinian protest descended into attack on synagogue and Jewish-owned businesses

Germany has condemned the anti-Semitic chants and threats heard at some of the protests against Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza, saying such behaviour will not be tolerated.

As three men were jailed in France for rioting after a synagogue and Jewish-owned businesses were attacked during a pro-Palestinian rally in a Paris suburb, the German government has reassured Jewish people living in the country that they should feel safe.

Georg Streiter, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, told a news conference today: 'The chancellor and the government are happy to see the revival of Jewish life in Germany and will continue to campaign for the security of Jewish citizens.'

Rioters face riot police, following a pro-Palestinian demonstration, in Sarcelles, north of Paris, on Sunday

The German media has expressed shock at the tenor of anti-Israel chants at some of the demonstrations. German anti-racist laws forbid incitement to racial hatred such as anti-Semitic slogans.

The threats made at the protests were an 'attack on freedom and tolerance, and an attempt to destroy Germany's democracy', Streiter said.

A French court meanwhile has jailed three men, aged 21 and 28, for between six and ten months after a pro-Palestinian rally descended into violence in Sarcelles, a northern suburb of Paris, at the weekend, the BBC has reported.

The court also handed a fourth man a suspended sentence, while a minor was fined.

Escalating violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has prompted a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in Europe in the last few days.

Murderous slogans dating back to the days of Hitler have been chanted at pro-Palestinian rallies in Germany.

The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, said: ‘They pursue the Jews in the streets of Berlin… as if we were in 1938.’

Participants of a pro-Gaza demonstration hold a poster depicting Israeli's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Berlin authorities announced yesterday they've banned protesters from chanting anti-Semitic slogan

Jewish groups expressed disgust over the tide of anti-Semitic incidents and warned of ‘a new level of hatred and violence in all of Europe’.

Foreign ministers from Germany, France and Italy yesterday issued a joint statement condemning the rise in anti-Semitic protests and violence and vowed to combat hostility against Jewish people.

In Germany, there have been reports of protesters chanting ‘Jews to the gas chambers’. Police in Berlin have banned race-hate slogans that reappeared after being originally used in the days of the Nazis.

Officers had to protect an Israeli tourist at the weekend after protesters spotted his yarmulke (a small, round cap) and reportedly charged towards him shouting ‘Jew! We’ll get you.’

Fourteen people were arrested in the western city of Essen on suspicion of planning an attack on a synagogue. The imam of a Berlin mosque was under investigation after allegedly calling on Muslims to murder ‘Zionist Jews’.

In Paris, hundreds of protesters have attacked synagogues and set fire to shops in the suburb of Sarcelles, nicknamed Little Jerusalem.

Posters urged anti-Israel demonstrators to join ‘a raid on the Jewish district’, saying: ‘Come equipped with hammers, fire extinguishers and batons.’

Witnesses said several hundred youths marched on a synagogue chanting ‘Death to Jews’ and were beaten back by riot police using tear gas.

The protesters then targeted a shopping centre, a kosher grocery and a Jewish-owned chemist.

Police said 19 people were arrested after the violence on Sunday.

Eight synagogues in France were said to have been targeted in the last week. In the Netherlands, the home of the Dutch chief rabbi was attacked twice in one week.

Authorities see a heightened risk for Israeli buildings and interests in Germany and are providing appropriate security, a spokesman for the interior ministry said.

French youths defying a ban on a protest against Israel's Gaza offensive went on a rampage in a Paris suburb

The president of Germany's central council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, thanked German leaders for their support.

But he added: 'Many in our community are feeling very insecure, anxious and completely shocked at the horrid anti-Jewish slogans, some of which have been chanted by large, wild crowds, calling for Jews to be "gassed", "burned" or "slaughtered".'

French prime minister Manuel Valls condemned the violence in Paris as ‘intolerable’ and warned that France faced ‘a new form of anti-Semitism’.

Roger Cukierman, of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, said Jewish people were living in fear.

He said: ‘They are not shouting “Death to the Israelis” on the streets of Paris. They are screaming “Death to the Jews”.’

Since the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas, participants at anti-Israel demonstrations across Germany have frequently used anti-Semitic slogans and also called for Jewish people to be gassed

French President Francois Hollande met Jewish and Muslim leaders in the Elysee Palace on Monday and told them that fighting anti-Semitism will be a ‘national cause’.

France has around half a million Jewish residents, the biggest population in Europe, and around five million Muslims.

The Jewish population of Germany has increased in the past two decades to around 250,000, most of them migrants from the former Soviet Union who came after German reunification.

Israeli troops battled Hamas militants today near a southern Gaza Strip town as the top U.S. diplomat reported progress in efforts to broker a truce in a war that has so far killed at least 684 Palestinians and 31 Israelis.