by Giovanni Giacalone
On July 29 and 30, 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories, Italian citizen Francesca Albanese, was invited to hold a series of press conferences at the Italian parliament by Alessandra Maiorino and Stefania Ascari, representatives of the Five Star Movement respectively at the Senate and at the Chamber of Deputies.
Albanese presented her report “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide”, for which she was sanctioned by the US State Department on July 9 (read the DOS statement here).
Among other things, the DOS statement specified that “Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.”
Moreover, that Albanese “has been writing threatening letters to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American companies across finance, technology, defense, energy, and hospitality, making extreme and unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue investigations and prosecutions of these companies and their executives.”
The United States issued a direct and unequivocal statement, characterizing Albanese’s actions as “campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty.”
In short, far-left Italian MPs called on Albanese to present the report for which she was sanctioned by the United States.
Stefania Ascari is notoriously a pro-Palestinian activist who took part in several initiatives such as the January 2023 trip to Lebanon coordinated by the ABSPP (Associazione Benefica Solidarietà Popolo Palestinese) and its president, Mohammad Hannoun, a Palestinian residing in Italy. Among those present was preacher Riyad al-Bustanji who, in a 2012 interview with Al-Aqsa television, revealed that he had taken his daughter to Gaza so that she could learn how to educate her children in jihad and martyrdom.
Alessandro Di Battista, Mohammad Hannoun, Riyadh al-Bustanji, Stefania Ascari and Raed Daoud
Source – https://www.infopal.it/missione-inverno-piu-caldo-resoconto-di-un-lungo-viaggio-nei-campi-profughi/
In October 2024 and June 2025, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Hannoun and his related associations, ABSPP and Cupola d’Oro (Golden Dome). The individual was indicated by the DOT as Hamas’ money collector in Italy.
In May 2023, Ascari took part at a conference in Malmoe, Sweden, organized by the Palestinian group “Europeans for al-Quds” and entitled “75 years…and we will be back”. The Italian delegation was led by Mohammad Hannoun.
The ABSPP and Golden Dome ads on the web
The parliament inquiry to the Minister of Interior on behalf of Brothers of Italy
Following Albanese’s conference, members of Parliament Sara Kelany, Galeazzo Bignami, and Francesco Filini, belonging to the ruling Brothers of Italy party (Fratelli d’Italia), submitted a parliamentary inquiry to Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, requesting clarifications regarding Albanese’s presence.
The MPs highlighted how Albanese, on her social media channels, criticized the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on the issue of rearmament, stating that “Atlanticism” is incompatible with his role as “guarantor of the Constitution.” The MPs further highlighted the accusations of “bias, anti-Semitism, support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West,” outlined in the US State Department document sanctioning Albanese.
However, the issue does not end there, as the MPs also expressed concern regarding the presence of a close aide of Mohammad Hannoun, another Italy-based Palestinian, named Suleiman Hijazi.
As stated in the inquiry: “During the aforementioned event, Albanese was photographed with Suleiman Hijazi, vice president of the Abspp (Charitable Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian People), believed to be close to the terrorist organization Hamas, which Hijazi appears to be praising on his social media channels”.
The MPs therefore questioned “whether Suleiman Hijazi is affiliated with the terrorist organization Hamas and what initiatives the government has undertaken and intends to undertake in the future to curb the proselytism activities of Islamist organizations in Italy.”
Sulaiman Hijazi and Francesca Albanese at the Italian Parliament
The media turmoil
Suleimani’s presence at the event drew significant attention from the Italian media, prompting coverage in newspapers such as Il Tempo and Libero. These outlets reported on the statements made by members of Parliament and highlighted ongoing concerns. Central to the controversy is a substantial body of material in which Hijazi is seen expressing support for Hamas.
On Thursday, July 31, and Friday, August 1, newspaper Il Tempo published a series of articles, signed by investigative journalist Giulia Sorrentino, raising a series of questions regarding the presence of the “pro-Hamas” individual next to Albanese.
After the first article, Sorrentino was contacted by Suleiman Hijazi, who complained about the picture of him and Albanese being published (regardless of the fact that it was public). As exposed by Sorrentino, during the telephone conversation, Hijazi stated that he is not a member of Hamas, but repeatedly refused to answer the question of whether he considered Hamas a terrorist organization, deflecting the conversation to other topics. Hijazi also announced that he intends to take legal action against the newspapers and the authors of the articles.
However, on July 2, Il Tempo published a new article exposing a few of Hijazi’s problematic posts while the newspaper director, Tommaso Cerno, wrote: “Not only does Il Tempo confirm every line of what my colleague Giulia Sorrentino wrote, but from today we are, if possible, even more aware that we did the right thing. In a free country, newspapers report and journalists are answered, whereas you, dear Suleiman Hijazi, when asked whether you considered Hamas a terrorist group, you refused to answer.”
Some of Suleimani’s posts
Among the numerous posts contested to Hijazi are some published from October 7, 2023 onwards (the day of the massacre perpetrated by Hamas in southern Israel) and others prior to that date.
For instance, on October 7, 2023, Hijazi published four green hearts with the writing “Good morning Palestine” and, shortly after, “Oh God, thank you”.
In 2024, Hijazi also posted images of Hamas founder, Sheikh Yassin, former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti, invoking his release.
In May 2017, after posting Hamas’ new charter, Hijazi wrote in a comment:
“Only those who are Palestinian can know what Hamas does for us. Hamas helps us in everything; not only does it fight but it also helps a lot in social matters. We are happy to have Hamas in Palestine.” 
In March 2015, Hijazi published another post claiming that: “Our resistance movement, which fought and continues to fight in Palestine (Hamas), is considered a terrorist movement in Egypt, just as it is in Israel. These acts against the resistance continue to demonstrate that Gaza is our only path to freedom and demonstrate that, unfortunately, we have a monster who takes orders from Israel and America…”.
In October 2019, Hijazi published a post regarding President Donald Trump and the killing of ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:
“The killing of the Islamic State terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by an American rocket in Idlib means that al-Baghdadi’s role is over, as it was with Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab Zarqawi, and new symbols of terrorism will be created to destroy the Muslim world at the hands of Muslims themselves. This is an electoral success for Trump, while pending to create new spare parts for Western intelligence agencies.”
Below, some of Hijazi’s pro-Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) content shared on Facebook
(“14/12/1987 the birth of Hamas”) (“The resistance in Gaza today”)
(“Abu Obaida a short while ago during the press conference in Gaza. Tonight I will update you”)
(“For the PFLP friends”)
In October 2024, the European Leadership Network (ELNET), a leading NGO dedicated to strengthening Europe-Israel relations based on shared democratic values and strategic interests, published a report on Hamas activity in Europe.
See the ELNET mapping below:
In conclusion
The U.S. Department of State’s decision to sanction Francesca Albanese has sent shockwaves through pro-Palestinian circles, not only within the United States and the United Nations, but also across Europe. Let’s not forget that, along with Hannoun, the Department of Defense has also sanctioned two other individuals identified as having ties to Hamas, one active in Germany (Majeed al-Zeer) and another in Austria (Adel Doughman).
Regarding Albanese’s recent appearance in the Italian Parliament, several Italian journalists and political figures suggest that elements of the far-left may be positioning her for a potential future candidacy. This is viewed by some as a highly risky maneuver, particularly at a time when Washington appears willing to impose sanctions without hesitation.
Another aspect to take into consideration concerns the ideological link between the Five-Star Movement (the party of Ascari and Maiorino) and the socialist and anti-US galaxy in Latin America, therefore Venezuela, Bolivia but also Brazil under Lula and Colombia under Gustavo Petro.
In June 2022, the Five-Star Movement praised Petro’s election in a statement released by EU MP Sabrina Pignedoli:” Gustavo Petro is the new president of Colombia. We express great emotion at this change. Now respect for human rights. Good luck, Mr. President. We look forward to seeing you at the European Parliament.”
In mid-July, Albanese attended an anti-Israel conference in Bogotà, hosted by Petro who, since his election, has been defying Washington amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
The event was organized by the Hague Group, a bloc of eight countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa, which was formed in January 2025 to oppose Israel.
As explained to the Los Angeles Times by Sergio Guzman, Director at Colombia Risk Analysis, a Bogotá-based political think tank: “Although Petro has been trying to sound the alarm bells about the situation in Palestine for quite some time, [the summit] is unlikely to make a difference in the big picture.”
However, it is plausible that Albanese is seeking overt support from the broader socialist, Bolivarian, and anti-U.S. sphere, sensing increased pressure from the Trump administration and perhaps beginning to consider her options for life after her tenure at the United Nations.
Gustavo Petro and Francesca Albanese in Bogota, next to a pro-Palestinian banner