Prosecutors have called for a man suspected of punching and kicking Israeli football fans in Amsterdam during a night of violence to serve two years in jail.

The 22-year-old, identified as Sefa O, was one of five suspects to appear before an Amsterdam court on Wednesday on charges relating to the chaos in the city after a match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on 7 November.

Maccabi supporters were targeted in “hit-and-run” attacks in the city centre after callouts on social media, causing Dutch and Israeli politicians to claim the violence had antisemitic motives.

The court saw images of a man alleged to be O kicking a person on the ground, chasing other people, and punching some in the head and the body. O played a “leading role” in the violence, which “had little to do with football”, the prosecutor alleged.

However, the prosecutor said: “In this case, there was no evidence of … a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by antisemitic sentiment. The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by antisemitism.”

The attacks came after two days of skirmishes in which Maccabi fans chanted anti-Arab songs, vandalised a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.

Police said they were investigating at least 45 people in connection with the violence, which briefly hospitalised five Maccabi fans.

O, who sat hunched and looking down at his hands, said he “very much regretted his presence” at the violence and wanted to start a new life with his family. “My wife is pregnant. For my family and my parents, I have decided from now on only to hang around with good people,” said O, who handed himself into police and has since been in jail.

Prosecutors called for a second suspect, named as Lucas D, to receive a jail sentence of six months for throwing stones at police and illegal possession of fireworks. He is also accused of being part of a Snapchat group that incited violence against the Israeli fans.

The five men, aged 19-32, are facing a three-judge bench at the Amsterdam district court in staggered appearances. Two more suspects are to appear on Thursday, as well as a third man whose case spilt over on Wednesday.

All seven have been charged with public violence.

The last man to appear in court on Wednesday, Abushabab M, 22, who is facing the most serious charge of attempted manslaughter, sat sobbing while his case was heard.

Judges had to postpone his case to Thursday because there was no interpreter available for the Arabic-speaking suspect, who was born in the Gaza Strip.

His lawyer, Anis Boumanjal, told the judges his client had grown up in a war zone and was “a young, vulnerable suspect with a life story that cuts to the bone”. M was “most likely suffering from a psychological disorder”, Boumanjal said, adding that it should be a mitigating circumstance in his sentencing.

A further six suspects are set to appear at a later stage.

Three of them are children and their cases will be heard behind closed doors.

“Charges have also been laid against Maccabi fans, who displayed provocative behaviour before the game,” the Dutch public prosecution service said in a statement.

The violence and its aftermath left the Dutch capital reeling and prompted a debate over polarisation between its various communities.

At the time, Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful antisemitic rioters” after a night of “unbearable” violence.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described the violence at the time as a “premeditated antisemitic attack”.

The court is expected to hand down its verdict on 24 December.