Terrorism: Three charities with Italian cells funded Hamas; nine arrested in Genoa

Terrorism: Three charities with Italian
cells funded Hamas; nine arrested in Genoa.

ROME:(International News Desk) According to global times News Agency Europe,The Genoa DIGOS police officers, the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Genoa Guardia di Finanza, and the Special Currency Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza have executed an order for the application of precautionary measures (personal and real, the latter amounting to over eight million euros) against nine suspects, all of whom are currently being held in prison, and three associations, respectively. The order was issued by the Preliminary Investigations Judge at the Court of Genoa, at the request of the Genoa District Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate.The precautionary measures were issued as part of an investigation, which drew on the significant support and expertise of the police force, initiated and coordinated by the Genoa District Anti-Mafia and Counterterrorism Directorate following a request from the National Anti-Mafia and Counterterrorism Directorate, which resulted from the analysis of reports of suspicious financial transactions. The suspects are accused of being members of and having financed Hamas. The financing of terrorist activities appears to have occurred through various organizations.Specifically, they are charged with financing transactions, believed to have significantly contributed to the terrorist organization’s criminal activities, for a total amount of approximately seven million euros. These transactions included triangulation transactions involving bank transfers or other means through associations based abroad, in favor of associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian Territories, or Israel, which were declared illegal by the State of Israel because they belonged to, were controlled by, or otherwise connected to Hamas, or were directly in favor of Hamas members.This support also included supporting the families of people involved in terrorist attacks against civilians or the relatives of those detained for terrorist crimes. This support strengthened the intention of an undetermined number of Hamas members to adhere to the organization’s terrorist strategy and criminal program, including by carrying out suicide bombings.Among those under investigation is a member of the terrorist organization’s foreign branch, a member of the board of directors of the European Palestinians Conference, seriously suspected of being a top member of the terrorist organization HAMAS, of having allocated, in the fundraising indicated as having humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian population, a significant portion (more than 71%) of such funds to the direct financing of HAMAS or associations linked to or controlled by it and other branches of the terrorist organization and of having therefore contributed to paying, directly or indirectly, to the terrorist organization, starting from 18 October 2001 and, up to today, but especially following the events of 7 October 2023, large sums of money, equal to Ç 7,288,248.15, diverting such funds from the declared purposes and the real needs of the civilian population of Gaza.The investigation began following the terrorist attack attributed to Hamas carried out on October 7, 2023, thanks to the impetus of the National Anti-Mafia and Counterterrorism Directorate, stemming from the analysis of a series of reports of suspicious financial transactions identified prior to October 7, 2023, concerning some of the suspects and the aforementioned Abspp.The investigation revealed that HAMAS has established a foreign branch and peripheral organizations that operate with the specific purpose of promoting the organization’s image and, above all, contributing to its funding, which is essential for its existence, development, and pursuit of its goals. ABSPP can be considered one of these organizations operating in Italy and participating, along with other similar associations, in a European network that operates in coordination with the decision-making structure of the "parent” organization.According to the prosecution’s theory, based on evidence gathered over years of investigation, the suspects knowingly diverted funds from the welfare purposes of dawa (the organization’s activities in the fields of religion, education, welfare, and health, aimed at building strong ties with the Palestinian population) to directly finance the terrorist organization and its criminal activities.Some wiretapped conversations also openly refer to jihad and the roles and responsibilities of the suspects. Similar considerations can be drawn from an examination of an internal Hamas document detailing the organization’s dawa activities, which aim to win hearts and convert people, gain support, and recruit new activists for the movement.The activities described are varied and range from educational to those strictly related to the military sector: in fact, the dawa sector includes training activities for young people for future leadership roles within HAMAS, those carried out in the student sector at the Military Camp (Command Training Institute), education on the status of martyrs and prisoners, and the symposium on Jihad and the organization’s holy warriors. These activities are carried out thanks to the contribution of HAMAS charities. These communications demonstrate the existence of an extensive international network of individuals/institutions engaged in fundraising, ostensibly for charitable purposes and in support of the Palestinian population and cause. ABSPP and ABSPPODV and their respective employees/collaborators constitute the Italian branch of this network.

PIANTEDOSI "IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANT OPERATION”
” The operation carried out this morning by the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza is a very important and significant one, with the arrest of nine people, including the most well-known Mohammad Hannoun . Despite the necessary presumption of innocence that must always be recognized at this stage, the veil has been torn away on behaviors and activities that, behind the facade of initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in organizations with actual terrorist aims of an Islamist nature. This is a danger to which our Government is paying the utmost attention. Thanks to the professionalism of the police officers of the Central Directorate of Preventive Police, our "anti-terrorism” unit, and the specialized units of the Guardia di Finanza, it was possible to reconstruct contacts and financial flows on an international scale: yet another demonstration of the skills and investigative capabilities of our police forces, which are confirmed among the best in the world. I am grateful to the Chief of Police, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor, and the magistrates of the Genoa District Directorate for how they coordinated these professionals, contributing to the development of this project.” "This is an investigation of extraordinary importance. This result encourages us in the work of further strengthening our law enforcement agencies, which we have been carrying out for three years and which we will continue as long as we are entrusted with government responsibility.” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said in a statement .