Authorities in the City of Milano issued an expulsion order against Mohammad Hannoun, a designated Hamas official blacklisted by the US and Israel. The banning order was issued following comments he made during a pro-Palestinian protest, in which he called to applaud the “youth in Amsterdam” for “teaching (Israelis) a lesson,” referring to the violent pogrom carried out against Israelis and Jews in the streets of the Dutch capital on November 7th.
The local police explained the unusual measure by issuing an official statement, which noted that Hannoun “had intervened by publicly approving and promoting the violent conduct of the young Dutch fans who, during the Europa League football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, played two days earlier in Amsterdam, had physically attacked the Israeli fans.”
It is unclear whether the decision is final or still appealable and how exactly the police would enforce this decision.
Who is Mohammad Hannoun
Marking a year since the October 7 atrocities, 62-year-old Jordanian-born Hannoun, who resides in Genoa, was designated by the US as a Hamas official operating in Italy while transferring millions of dollars to the terror organization in Gaza through a sham charity organization innocently named “The Charitable Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian People” (ABSPP). Hannoun was designated by Israel as a Hamas official in Europe as early as 2013 for the same reasons.
Following the American designation, Hannoun denied the accusations and was recently quoted as saying, “We are fighting with the banks, which are under the orders of the Americans when they know that I am on the 'black list,' they back down… now, even my bank wants to close my personal account.”
Hannoun maintained that he is a “good person” who is “against violence,” despite the openly violence-lauding remarks he made regarding the Amsterdam pogrom. In another interview he gave following his banishment from the Lombard capital, Hannoun slammed the “corrupt journalists, bastards, and sons of b.....” who he accused of taking parts of his speech and presenting an inauthentic picture of himself.
A report by the European Leadership Network (ELNET) launched last month also mentioned Hannoun as an integral part of Hamas’s European network. The report highlighted Hannoun’s extensive relations with Hamas leaders and his open endorsement of Hamas’s ideology, as well as his leading roles in other Hamas-affiliated organizations such as the European Palestinian Conference.
Hannoun is also the president of the Association of Palestinians in Italy (API), which, according to the ELNET report, is a de-facto clone entity of ABSPP based on the many characteristics the two share, including addresses, Facebook pages, and leadership under Hannoun.
More Hamas ties to the Amsterdam pogrom
As mentioned earlier, Hannoun was banished by the city not because of his ties to Hamas, but rather due to his remarks glorifying the violence in Amsterdam, which were labeled by local authorities in Milano as “incitement to hatred and violence”.
On November 10, The Jerusalem Post published an article featuring an expose led by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), which tied the Amsterdam pogrom to yet another organization starring in the Hamas-affiliated network in Europe, named the Palestinian Community in the Netherlands (PGNL). According to the expose, PGNL owned several Whatsapp groups and Telegram channels, which helped coordinate actions against Israel throughout the Netherlands.
PGNL was led for years by Amin Abou Rashed, another Hamas operative designated by Israel and arrested by the Netherlands, reportedly for the transfer of funds to Hamas through a series of sham charities. PGNL’s current leader, Ayman Nejmeh, was also an UNRWA teacher in his past.
Pro-Israel group: ‘There’s a lot more work to do’
Speaking to the Jerusalem Post, Alessandro Bertoldi, president of the Italian Alliance for Israel, commented:
“We welcome the news of the expulsion of Mohammad Hannoun, President of the Palestinian community in Italy. For over a decade, Hannoun has been a prominent fundraiser for Hamas, a terrorist organization internationally recognized for its violent actions. He has consistently spread antisemitic hatred across Italy, fostering an environment of division and hostility. Moreover, Hannoun has been a driving force behind numerous protests and disruptions throughout the country, orchestrating activities that have sown discord and threatened public order.
“This expulsion is a significant victory in the ongoing battle against individuals connected to terrorist organizations. However, the fight does not end here, and Hannoun will surely continue to operate in Italy through his organizations and his network of associates.
“It is imperative to continue dismantling the networks of terror propagated by organizations like Hamas and their allies, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which frequently acts as a supporter and enabler of such groups. Their ideological and logistical support poses a grave threat not only to Jewish communities but to the fabric of democratic societies across Europe.
“Countering fundamentalism and antisemitism is not merely a matter of national security but a moral imperative to safeguard the principles of freedom, coexistence, and mutual respect.”