Unpacking Hamas' Italian Network: What Saturday's Sting Operation Reveals
The arrest of Mohammad Hannoun and 6 associates highlights how Hamas worked diligently to build up its presence in Europe over several decades, while authorities were largely asleep at the wheel
Italian police arrested Mohammad Hannoun, a Jordanian national identified by authorities as heading an Italian Hamas financing operation, along with six associates, for allegedly channeling over €8 million ($9.5 million) to the terrorist organization through charitable fronts. Italian prosecutors stated that over 71% of donations from three implicated charities — which were ostensibly earmarked for humanitarian aid — actually reached Hamas-linked entities in Gaza.
The arrests also shed light on a sophisticated pan-European Hamas network, with Hannoun serving as a central node connecting multiple organizations across several countries.
Who is Mohammad Hannoun?
Last October, the U.S. Treasury Department identified Hannoun as having moved at least $4 million to Hamas during the previous ten years. Genoa-based investigators describe the 62-year-old as running the Italian branch of the terrorist network.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi noted that authorities discovered operations that masked “support for and participation in organizations with clear Islamist terrorist aims” behind purported Palestinian humanitarian initiatives.
The case has brought renewed attention to unresolved questions about Hannoun’s potential involvement in terrorism in the 1980’s, specifically allegations recently highlighted by The Media Line about how Italian intelligence identified a "Mohamed Hannoun" as head of the central information committee within the Abu Nidal Organization—a Palestinian terrorist group responsible for deadly attacks in Rome during that era—according to a partially declassified 1986 dossier released in 2014. Whether this refers to the same individual who now leads Palestinian organizations in Italy remains unresolved.
Three Decades Building Hamas Infrastructure in Italy
Since arriving in Genoa in 1983, Hannoun has built an interconnected network of organizations that U.S. and Israeli authorities now identify as forming the backbone of Hamas’s Italian operations. Prosecutors allege the funding flowed primarily through associations linked to Hannoun, channeling money to entities and individuals in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel designated illegal by Israeli authorities because of alleged links to Hamas. He serves as president of at least four organizations:
ABSPP (Charity Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian People)
Co-Founded by Hannoun in 1994 and designated by Israel in 2006 as part of Hamas's charity coalition, ABSPP is identified as part of the Union of Good network. A second ABSPP organization (ABSPP ODV - Organizzazione Di Volontariato) was established in 2003, also in Genoa, with Hannoun as legal representative. The U.S. Treasury designated ABSPP in October 2024.
ABSPP's official representative in Gaza is Osama Issawi, who held multiple ministerial positions within the Hamas-controlled government from 2008-2014, including Minister of Culture (2010) and Minister of Transport (2012). In December 2021, Italian authorities suspended ABSPP's bank accounts following reports to the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
La Cupola d’Oro (The Golden Dome)
In early 2024, Hannoun established La Cupola d’Oro (Golden Dome) as an alternative entity to continue financing operations for Hamas. The U.S. Treasury designated La Cupola d’Oro in June 2025, describing it as established by Hannoun and linked to Hamas financing.
API (Associations of Palestinians in Italy)
API was founded in 2008 and operates from Via Bolzaneto 19/2 in Genoa, directly adjacent to ABSPP’s offices at 19/1. The watchdog group, The European Leadership Network (ELTNET) describes API as an ABSPP “clone.” Analysis of Facebook transparency data shows API was previously named “ABSPP Onlus and Abspp”, indicating its origins as a rebranding of the designated charity.
Another organization in Hannoun's network is InfoPal, a media platform founded in 2009 in Genoa that operates from the same street as ABSPP and API (Via Bolzaneto). Led by editor-in-chief Dr. Angela Lano, InfoPal maintains institutional ties to the broader Hamas infrastructure. One of InfoPal's officers, Safiee Mahfuzh, was also registered as working at Palestine Return Centre (PRC), which was declared an “unlawful association” by Israel in 2010 as a Hamas platform.
Europeans for Al-Quds (EQ)
In 2021, Hannoun founded Europeans for Al-Quds (EQ). The organization has shared platforms with Majed Al-Zeer, who has praised EQ’s mobilizing activities. Al-Zeer, who was designated by U.S. Treasury in October 2024 for acting on behalf of Hamas, has been identified by Germany’s Interior Ministry as one of Hamas’s main representatives in Europe. Additionally, Al Zeer served as EPC president (2010-2021) while Hannoun and Alsalahat sat on the board.
Prosecutors discovered that over 71% of charitable income collected by Hannoun’s organizations was forwarded to Hamas-affiliated associations.
Direct Hamas Leadership Contacts
Hannoun has met multiple times with Hamas leaders including former chairman Ismail Haniyeh and senior official Khaled Mashaal, and was photographed with former Hamas Minister of Labor Abu Osama al-Kurd.
Key Operatives Arrested in Italian Hamas Cell
Among those arrested on December 27, 2025, alongside Hannoun are individuals investigators describe as members of Hamas’s external apparatus and key operational figures in the Italian network:
1. Dawoud Ra’Ed Hussny Mousa (Raed Dawoud)
Italian prosecutors identify him as belonging to Hamas’s external operations wing and characterize him as Hannoun’s principal operational contact within Italy. He held the position of ABSPP Program Manager and worked as a broadcaster for Europeans for Al-Quds.
During the early 2010s, Dawoud held face-to-face meetings with Ismail Haniyeh. In October 2014, he participated as an invited speaker at Qatar Charity’s “Humanitarian Forum to Support Palestinians” held in Doha, where he met with Sheikh Yussuf Al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
2. Elasaly Yaser
Authorities allege he jointly directed ABSPP’s Milan operations, one of three organizations that Italian law enforcement subjected to enforcement measures for allegedly funneling money to Hamas.
3. Al Salahat Raed (Raed Alsalahat)
Prosecutors describe him as a member of Hamas’s external operations apparatus who allegedly functioned as a Florence and Tuscany regional contact. He is an API member and holds a seat on the European Palestinian Conference board of directors alongside Hannoun.
4. Albstanji Riyad Abdelrahim Jaber (Sheikh Riyadh Al-Bustanji)
Law enforcement officials say he participated in fundraising activities connected to propaganda initiatives. He has been described as holding positions in the ABSPP and participated in the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla. In 2014, he was photographed with Ismail Haniyeh and has recorded meetings with Khaled Mashaal.
Pan-European Hamas Network Coordination
Hannoun’s arrest reveals how Italian operations function as a node in a sophisticated pan-European Hamas network. Significantly, both Hannoun and Raed Alsalahat (arrested December 27) serve on the board of the European Palestinians Conference (EPC), an organization that coordinates various pro-Palestine activities across Europe.
Sweden, particularly Malmö, provided critical legitimization for Hannoun’s Italian network through the EPC, which has held conferences across multiple European cities since its founding in 2003. As an EPC board member alongside Swedish representative Musa Al-Rifai, creating institutional connections between his Italian operations and the broader European network that includes Swedish partner organizations.
Hannoun attended the May 2016 conference in Malmö as a board member, where Palestine’s ambassador to Sweden, European MPs from Sweden, Ireland, and Spain, and members of the British House of Lords participated.
The EPC held major Malmö gatherings in 2006, drawing approximately 5,000 attendees and featuring a phone address from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The conference returned to Malmö in 2009 and 2023, with the most recent event attended by Swedish MP Jamal El-Haj, who was pictured alongside Hannoun and Amin Abou Rashed.
The organization demonstrates direct operational overlap between Hannoun’s Italian network and the broader European Hamas structure. Raed Dawoud, ABSPP’s Program Manager who was arrested December 27, served as a broadcaster of EQ content.
Sulaiman Hijazi, who serves as ABSPP Vice President and API Foreign Relations Official, represented EQ on a delegation in 2018, demonstrating institutional links between Hannoun's Italian operations and Al-Zeer's pan-European Hamas coordination network.
Additional Prominent Alleged Hamas Operatives in Europe
Amin Abou Rashed (Netherlands)
Both Abou Rashed and Hannoun were designated by Israel in 2013 as Hamas operatives. Abou Rashed served as the head of EPC and was arrested in June 2023 for funneling approximately €5.5-11.7 million to Hamas through Al-Israa Foundation. ABSPP worked with Abou Rashed's Al-Wafaa organization to organize aid convoys received by Hamas government officials in Gaza, demonstrating years of operational coordination. In 2012, Hannoun visited Gaza with Abou Rashed and other European Hamas-affiliated individuals. On December 8, Hannoun and Abou Rashed attended a rally in Gaza to celebrate the founding of Hamas.
Mazen Kahel (France)
Listed as EPC secretary general alongside board members Hannoun and Alsalahat, and also served as deputy CEO for the European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC), led by Al-Zeer and Hannoun. Kahel was also designated by Israel in 2013 as a Hamas operative, alongside Hannoun.
Adel Abdallah Doghman (Austria)
Designated by U.S. Treasury in October 2024 and Israel in 2013. Served as EPC secretary general until 2021 while Hannoun and Alsalahat sat on the board.
Zaher Birawi (UK)
Birawi and Hannoun were both designated by Israel in 2013 as Hamas operatives operating within the same pan-European coordination network.
Responses From Italy
Italian media reported that Hannoun was planning to relocate to Turkey and transfer all his financing activities there when authorities intervened. The timing suggests prosecutors acted to prevent the network’s migration to a jurisdiction less cooperative with European counter-terrorism efforts.
The arrests represent a significant escalation in European enforcement actions against Hamas financing networks coordinated through Eurojust. The operation builds on the June 2023 Dutch arrest of Amin Abou Rashed and December 2023 arrests in Germany, where Der Spiegel reported Hamas had long considered the country a “safe haven” for fundraising.
I THINK IT NAIVE TO BELIEVE THEY WERE ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL. SOME PERHAPS. INDIFFERENT YEP. HELPFUL. YES THERE WERE THOSE. REMEMBER IT IS JEW HATING EUROPE YOU ARE REFERENCING.