Italy arrests 9 accused of raising millions for Hamas

ROME – Italian prosecutors said on Dec 27 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 group, which the European Union designates as a terrorist organisation, prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Genoa said in a statement.

Those arrested allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked entities around €7 million (S$10.6 million) raised over the last two years for ostensibly humanitarian purposes, prosecutors said. Police seized assets worth more than €8 million.

While the official objective of the three associations was to collect donations “for humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people”, more than 71 per cent was earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas or entities affiliated with the Islamist movement, according to the police.

Some of the money went to “family members implicated in terrorist attacks”, the statement said.

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, according to media reports.

The investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged and expanded 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" which had uncovered financing for Hamas through "so-called charity organisations."

Israeli intelligence helped investigations

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 Dec 29.

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 Dec 27 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 Oct 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. AFP, REUTERS