The “leader” of the Palestinian Association of Italy, as well as president of the Charitable Association Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP), Mohammad Hannoun, is still trying to call the shots, this time by strongly criticizing the left wing for a June 7 demonstration in Rome which appears to be too “moderate” for his views.
This is an interesting point considering that the left is already divided over the demonstration, with one part calling for another the day before in Milan.
As explained by the Italian news site “Formiche”, Elly Schlein (Democratic Party), Giuseppe Conte (5-Star Movement), Nicola Fratoianni (Italian Left) and Angelo Bonelli (Green Europe) have announced the mobilization in Rome’s San Giovanni Square, on the basis of a parliamentary motion calling for the recognition of the State of Palestine and a ceasefire in Gaza. The message is clear: stop Netanyahu’s “crimes”. However, the platform does not include an explicit condemnation of Hamas, nor a call for the release of hostages or the disarmament of the terrorist group, as requested by “Sinistra per Israele” (Left for Israel) and the centrists of Azione and Italia Viva. This omission is a crucial point, which brought the latter parties to organize an alternative event in Milan on June 6, focused on the condemnation of Netanyahu but also on the fight against antisemitism and the destruction of the State of Israel.
However, Hannoun did not appreciate the premise of the demonstration to be held in Rome and he even called it counterproductive.
This is the translation of Hannoun’s statement as published by the Italian news agency ANSA:
We believe that a demonstration that does not reflect the narrative and historical requests of the Palestinian people, risks becoming an empty gesture, if not even harmful”: this is what the Association of Palestinians in Italy (API) wrote in a note released by the president Mohammad Hannoun “regarding the demonstration recently called by some Italian political groups”. “While recognizing the importance of public mobilization in support of the Palestinian cause, we cannot – the note reads – support or share the initiative in question”.
And this for various reasons, starting from the “selective and continuous condemnation of October 7, without context or understanding of the reality of the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian resistance”, through the “spread and re-proposal of narratives not verified or denied by multiple independent sources, such as the alleged massacre of children or rapes attributed to Hamas“, to arrive at the “Reticence in the use of the word “genocide”” and the “Belated request for cessation of hostilities”.
We believe that every public position must have at its center the integral liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea, respecting – concludes the API – the voice and will of the Palestinians themselves”. (ANSA).
Evidently, according to Hannoun, the horrific accounts of the female hostages released by Hamas and the death of the Bibas infants are all “alleged”?
No surprise considering that these words come from someone who, just three days after the October 7th massacre, told the Italian State TV Rai 3 that it was “self-defense”. Hannoun also praised Hamas terrorists such as Yahya Ayyash and Saleh al-Arouri; he called for the assault of Israeli embassies during a street demonstration in Milan and praised the attacks perpetrated by Muslim thugs against Israeli supporters in Amsterdam.
On May 31, Hannoun posted a photo of US Special Envoy, Steven Witkoff and the following comment:
Steve Witkoff, US Truce Mediator as Representative of National Zionist Government Declares Failure of Talks with Hamas”.
On October 7th, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated sanctions against Hannoun and two other Europe-based individuals, all accused of being Hamas money-collectors.
Here is the DOT statement regarding Hannoun:
Mohammad Hannoun (Hannoun) is an Italy-based Hamas member who established the Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, or Associazione Benefica di Solidarietà con il Popolo Palestinese (ABSPP), a sham charity in Italy which ostensibly raises funds for humanitarian purposes, but in reality helps bankroll Hamas’s military wing. As an executive at ABSPP, Hannoun has sent money to Hamas-controlled organizations since at least 2018. He has solicited funding for Hamas with senior Hamas officials and sent at least $4 million to Hamas over a 10-year period.”
And again:
Hannoun and ABSPP are being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, Hamas.”
It is also important to recall that in October 2024, the European Leadership Network (Elnet) published a report on Hamas in Europe, dedicating the Italian part to Hannoun and associates (including Suleiman Hijazi, Raed Dawoud and Raed al Salahat), and exposing the links between Hannoun and individuals active in other European countries and indicated as linked to Hamas; among these, some of those who were sanctioned by the United States.
The Washington Outsider already published a full report on Hannoun’s case in March 2025.
Currently, a new association named “Cupola d’Oro” (Golden Dome), born in early 2024, is utilizing the same bank account previously used by the already sanctions ABSPP, under a rebranded name.
The account, provided by Poste Italiane (Italian Mail Service) is currently still open and functioning regardless of the sanctions.
It is also worth noting that “La Cupola d’Oro” continues to solicit funds through various means on social media, and Hannoun has officially confirmed raising approximately 2 million euros in recent months, as reported by the Italian press agency ANSA on January 28, 2025:
The association (API) explains that one can contribute directly at its offices in Milan, Rome and Genoa, where Hannoun resides, or by making a bank transfer to the Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’oro. Last October Hannoun explained to ANSA that after the decision of the American department his personal bank and postal accounts and those linked to the associations of which he is president had been closed, but that the API had still managed to collect 2 million euros for humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population”.
How is it possible that despite the sanctions from Washington, the Elnet report, Hannoun is still able to collect money, travel in and out of Italy and even release statements telling the left-wing what to do?
Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU, just like ISIS and Hannoun is spreading pro-Hamas narrative. Therefore, why the double standards between ISIS and Hamas? Where does Italy stand on this?