Italian prosecutors said on Saturday they had arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through charities based in Italy, in an operation coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units.
The suspects are accused of ‘belonging to and having financed’ the Palestinian terror group.
Those arrested allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked entities around 7 million euros (£6.1 million) raised over the last two years for ostensibly humanitarian purposes, prosecutors said. Police seized assets worth more than 8 million euros.
One of the people arrested was named by Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi as Mohammad Hannoun, the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy.
He was photographed with Greta Thunberg at a pro-Palestine rally in Rome in November, though it is important to note the Swedish activist has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
In another statement, police said officers had seized 1.08 million euros in cash found in the offices of a pro-Palestinian charity and in suspects’ homes, as well as material supportive of Hamas, Israel‘s foe in the two-year Gaza war.
The Italian investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the authorities for ‘a particularly complex and important operation’ uncovering financing for Hamas through ‘so-called charity organisations.’
Israeli intelligence and anti-terrorism agencies contributed, providing ‘information and evidence to Italian law enforcement authorities through established and agreed channels,’ the Israeli defence ministry said on Sunday.
Mohammad Hannoun, the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, (pictured, right) was photographed with Greta Thunberg (pictured, left) at a pro-Palestine rally in Rome in November
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would pursue every terrorist and anyone supporting them, even abroad, and those who thought they could fund terrorism and stay hidden were mistaken.
Meloni’s right-wing government is one of Israel’s strongest allies in Europe. Its support for Israel in its war with Hamas has triggered large and repeated street protests in Italy.
Italian pro-Palestinian activists protested against the arrests in a march on Saturday in Milan and denounced the police action as part of a campaign of ‘repression and criminalisation’.
The Young Palestinians of Italy and the Arab-Palestinian Democratic Union said Palestinians, like all peoples seeking self-determination, had a legitimate right to resist and the labelling of such resistance as ‘terrorism’ was unjust.
Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 people, according to the enclave’s health ministry. It was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
