A devastating explosion shook The Hague on the morning of Saturday December 7. It took out apartments and shops, one of which, a bridal fashion store, is regarded by police as the probable target. The blast killed six people. The victims included three members of one family – father, mother and daughter – leaving an eight-year-old son as the only survivor.
Huis ten Bosch, the palace of King Willem-Alexander, is just a 20-minute walk away. When the king visited the site, he said he was “in shock”.
The paroxysm came just as the “festive” fireworks season was getting under way. The Dutch love fireworks, especially in the run-up to New Year. Bans on fireworks in most big cities are ignored, and each year millions of euros light up the sky on December 31. Firefighters and police have their hands full, and hospitals have to treat many burns.
The explosion in The Hague was of an entirely different order. Witnesses reported two small blasts that might not have been completely out of the ordinary for the time of year, followed by an enormous explosion.
Speculation on the cause initially focused on two typically Dutch possibilities: an accident in a drugs lab or an illegal fireworks cache that caught fire. But neither seems to be the case. Another of the usual suspects, a gas leak, was soon discounted by the energy network provider. Police are now focused on the likelihood of a criminal attack.
This would also be in line with a new trend. Recent police research highlights the escalating use of explosives in attacks, making the Netherlands “an outlier in Europe”. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of such attacks jumped fivefold.
Most of these incidents have no link to drugs or organised crime but involve small conflicts in domestic circles, between neighbours or within the community. They are mostly meant to intimidate and in most cases cause no fatalities. A report that appeared just last month ominously called this “a miracle”.
The circumstances surrounding the December blast are still shrouded in mystery. Police and prosecutors say a car was seen speeding from the scene shortly before the explosion. Another vehicle was found burnt out nearby, in all likelihood set on fire by the explosion. Four people have been held by police in connection with the case.
It is still unclear why the bridal fashion shop, Aliyahs Styling, would have been the target of an attack, and why the explosion was so huge. Dutch media report that the owner, a 27-year-old woman, will not talk to them.
The police report on explosions notes that many of the perpetrators underestimate the power of the blast. The majority of the attacks are carried out using powerful “Cobra” fireworks that are meant to be sold only to licensed users but are readily available to the public. Their power has been compared to that of a grenade, and often several are used at a time.
If someone did order the attack on the bridal fashion boutique, there’s no guarantee they will be found. The police study released earlier this year explains that many of the attacks take place via “violence brokers”. The perpetrators, mostly young adults or even children who are paid to do a one-off job, might get caught – but those behind the attacks often go free.
This was a tragedy waiting to happen, irrespective of the precise method employed and the reason behind the attack. Dutch law enforcement is left looking shockingly weak – in fact, we seem to have a culture of non-enforcement.
Ferry Biedermann is a journalist based in Amsterdam writing on Europe, the Netherlands and Brexit
