Mohammad Hannoun

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Mohamed Hannoun is the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy. He was 63 years old in 2025, a Genoa resident, and has worked as an architect. [1] [2] In addition to being Palestinian, he has Jordanian citizenship, but has been living in Italy for 40 years. [3] [4] The United States and Italian governments have both accused Hannoun of being a financier of Hamas. [3]

Contents

Gaza Flotillas

2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Mohamed Hannoun and his charity, the Palestinian Association in Italy, worked with the Turkish nonprofit IHH to fund the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla [1] (also known as the Freedom Flotilla 2). [5]

Global Sumud Flotilla

Hannoun supported the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla, which had boats set sail for Gaza from Genoa. [3] [1] Hannoun was also a participant in the November 2025 pro-Palestine protests alongside Global Sumud Flotilla participant Greta Thunberg. [1] [6]

2024 Sanremo Music Festival

At the 2024 Sanremo Music Festival, an on-stage plea by one of the performers, Italian-Tunisian rapper Ghali, sparked controversy after the rapper pled on stage to “stop the genocide” in (Gaza). Mohammed Hannoun thanked Ghali for “his clear words against the extermination"; Ghali's remarks were condemned by the Israeli ambassador to Italy. [7] [8]

2025 December arrest

Hannoun was arrested on December 27, 2025, with eight others on charges of being a financier of Hamas. [3] [9] [10] The Italian government put out a statement the next day on December 28, 2025, announcing the arrest of nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through charities based in Italy, in an operation that was coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units. [11] [2]

Mohammad Hannoun was designated the head of a Hamas cell in Italy by authorities after his arrest, [12] [13] and has been designated by Israel as a Hamas official in Europe since 2013. [14] Hannoun's lawyers have said that "the charges against our client were fabricated by Israel". [15] [2] Hannoun has stated that allegations of his being a leader of Hamas are hoaxes, and has said that he is as sympathetic to Hamas as any faction fighting on behalf of his rights as a Palestinian. [3] [16]

The Italian police have stated that the arrest took place because Hannoun had deleted evidence on his phone and allegedly was preparing to leave for Turkey, where it is not illegal to support Hamas. [4] [17] [18] In addition to the 2025 arrest, in October 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against several Italian charities and individuals, including Hannoun. [19]

United States and Italian travel warrants

In 2023, the United States Treasury Department placed Mohamed Hannoun and his nonprofit, the Palestinian Association in Italy, on a travel black list, accusing the nonprofit and by extension Hannoun of being financiers of terrorism. [3] On 15 November 2024, the government of Milan issued Hannoun an additional 6-month travel warrant for incitement to hatred and violence, due to comments Hannoun had made at a rally where he praised the November 2024 Amsterdam riots, where Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans were attacked in the streets of Amsterdam. [3] [20] [4] In October 2025, Hannoun received his second travel warrant from Milan for his statements surrounding the support of Hamas's systemic executions of Palestinians who are perceived as collaborators with Israel. [3] [4] [20]

Personal life

Mohammad Hannoun has a wife and two children. [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Quella traccia sottile che lega Soros, Greta, Flotilla e Hannoun". www.iltempo.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  2. 1 2 3 Milan, James Imam (2025-12-28). "Police seize €7 million 'intended for Hamas'". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Who is Hannoun, proPal leader arrested is on US blacklist". Il Sole 24 ORE. 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Italienare samlade Gazabistånd för miljoner – pengarna hamnade hos Hamas". Svenska Yle (in Swedish). 2025-12-28. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  5. ↑ "İHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation". İHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  6. ↑ "Palestinsk ledare i Italien demonstrerade med Thunberg – gripen för terrorstöd". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 2025-12-29. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  7. ↑ "'Stop genocide' plea by performer at Sanremo Music Festival sparks diplomatic row". Arab News. 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  8. ↑ "Ghali's "stop the genocide" becomes a case. The Israeli ambassador: «Shameful messages of hate»". L'Unione Sarda English. 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  9. ↑ "Italy arrests nine over alleged Hamas funding through charities". CNN. 2025-12-28. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  10. ↑ Svensson, Simone. "Palestinsk ledare gripen – demonstrerade med Thunberg". bulletin.nu (in Swedish). Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  11. ↑ "Italy arrests nine over alleged Hamas funding through charities". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  12. ↑ "Italian authorities arrest 9 for allegedly funding Hamas through charities". NBC News. 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  13. ↑ "Nine people arrested in Italy for allegedly funding Hamas through charities". ITV. 2025-12-27.
  14. ↑ "Designated Hamas official ordered banished from Milan | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-11-18. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  15. ↑ "Palestinian Italy chief held in 'Hamas funding' case - General News - Ansa.it". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 2025-12-29. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  16. ↑ "Mohammad Hannoun (Associazione palestinesi d'Italia): "Non faccio parte di Hamas, l'accusa è una bugia"". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). 2025-08-16. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  17. 1 2 McKenna, Josephine (2025-12-29). "How Rome church fundraiser 'made a bundle of cash for Hamas terrorists'". The Telegraph.
  18. ↑ "Chi è Hannoun, l'imam di Genova che stava per trasferirsi in Turchia". La Stampa (in Italian). 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  19. ↑ "Italian authorities arrest nine for allegedly funneling millions to Hamas via charities". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  20. 1 2 Roma, Redazione (2025-10-25). "Foglio di via da Milano per il presidente Palestinesi Italia Mohammad Hannoun". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-02-22.
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